The 7th Warrior
by Vex Matthewson
Summary: A year has pased on Asgard for Samantha Jennings and each day she becomes closer to Loki and discovers more and more about her past life as Speki, Goddess of Wisdom and Intelligence. But in the world of the Avengers, Earth never stays safe for long. Sequel to the 7th Avenger! Loki/OC
1. Heated Words

**Without further ado, I present to you...**

**The 7****th**** Warrior**

"What is that?" Loki asked behind her. Samantha had now been residing on Asgard for a year and still Loki was imprisoned. His projection stood behind her chair as she looked down on a photo of her and Gareth on her phone. They were pulling funny faces at the camera after they had been to see a film and gotten something to eat, it was Gareth's birthday so they had taken the day off from training to celebrate. She turned her phone off to save the battery that was now running out. She had kept it and only turned it on to look back at some of the old photos whenever she felt home sick.

"It's a photo on a phone, a human device." She told Loki then she got off her chair and began to return the pile of books that was littered around her. She could have sent them back with her mind but she wanted to learn to rely less on her powers.

"Why do you have it?" Loki asked as he followed her. She could tell from his voice that he was jealous of the photo she shared with Gareth.

"Because I miss my friend and I miss Earth." She told him plainly. There was no point in lying to him.

"You call Gareth a friend? I thought he was an annoying side kick?" Loki asked. She turned around to face him but she didn't realise how close he was. She stumbled back in surprise and hit her head on a book case.

"Ow!" She yelled. Her hand rushed to the back of her head as she rubbed it trying to sooth the pain. "Gareth wasn't my 'side-kick' he was a friend and you should know that. Weren't you the one who was constantly spying on me?" As her head throbbed, an old memory seemed to be coming back to her but it was slightly fuzzy.

"I prefer the term observing from afar." Loki said. She could see the anger in his eyes.

"Because that doesn't sound any less creepy." Samantha murmured while she carried on placing the books back. "Look it doesn't matter anymore about Gareth because I'm here"

"I think you should get rid of those photos Samantha." Loki suggested but his tone was demanding.

"Well seeing as you're in a cell I think I don't have to do anything you say." She told him as she placed the last book back. She sighed as her head was still pounding. She turned back around to Loki and crossed her arms across her chest. "Do you want anything?"

"Depends on what you mean by that." Loki smirked at her but Samantha's expression changed. The memory came flooding back to her and her eyes turned hard. Loki could sense the change as the smirk disappeared off his face.

"You stole my memory!" She accused Loki.

"I don't know-"

"The night you escaped from SHIELD you came to my hotel room asking me to be your queen. I then told you no and you drugged me!" Samantha's voice seemed to get higher than she ever thought it could.

"I didn't drug you" Loki told her.

"But you admit you did something to me" Samantha's voice became hard. "You can't do that to people Loki."

"I can do whatever I want. You weren't objecting."

"Because I couldn't remember!" She shouted at him. "This is why you are in a cell because you can't tell what's right and what's wrong!"

"Sorry I can't be perfect like Gareth." Loki hissed at her.

"Of course it comes back to jealousy. Poor little Loki can't stand that I have a friend who just happens to be a man, a human no less." She kept looking into Loki's eyes which were growing harder by the second. "You need grow up and stop being such a dick" Samantha matched Loki's harsh tone.

"I'm not familiar with that term though I believe how you said it; it sounds like the perfect description of Gareth." Samantha saw Loki's jaw clench and his hands ball into fists at his side.

"Let me put it this way for you to understand, you're a pain in the royal Asgardian soul."

"Obviously your Father never taught you manners." Loki said. He had gone too far to bring Samantha's father into the conversation and red clouded her vision.

"Well at least I knew my Father and didn't grow up in a lie." She sneered back. The words left her lips before she could think and she knew she had gone too far, anger she had never seen before blazed behind Loki's eyes. Her tone returned soft. "Loki that was uncalled for I-" But Samantha's throat closed, words would do her no help in this situation.

He just looked at her with disgust and hatred which made her shrivel inside. Loki's form disappeared and Samantha was left alone. She sighed wondering how long it would take, if Loki did, to forgive her so Samantha picked up her belongings and headed to the training area hoping to relax.

She quickly changed out of her jeans and t-shirt into her armour and it wasn't long before she was twirling Fear in her hands. The anger inside her had subsided but she needed an outlet. She knew that the guards had a bet to see which one could take Samantha down first seeing as she was technically human and could be no match for an Aesir, so it wasn't long before one approached her.

"Lady Samantha would like a partner?" A rather large guard asked.

"If you don't mind getting hurt." She told him and which he replied with a loud laugh.

"Only if you don't mind either Lady Samantha." Samantha just smiled and took to her corner of the mat. When she fought like this she wanted to practice her hand to hand combat skills and knew that throwing the guy 50ft into the air with a thought was unfair.

She surveyed the man as he picked up a rather heavy looking and large sword trying to intimidate her. Samantha kept her smile inwards. The man looked to his colleagues who all were watching with interest, Samantha used this to tell that this man was not the open leader but the man all men respected and wanted to be. He wouldn't lead but would have a large sway over the guards. She watched the way he twirled his sword switching it from both hands, he was making it clear that he was strong on either side but Samantha also worked out that he relied heavily on his sword and that his hand fighting skill would be weak. Not weak as in awful but weak in comparison to his sword skill.

So first she would disarm him by a surprise attack with a low kick to his feet sending him to the floor. The man would then jump up and she would let him as she rolled to the side throwing the sword behind her meaning the man would have to come towards her to reach his weapon. The guard would then attempt to kick her in her side which she would let hit her but use the force to roll herself to the side bringing Fear around her head to take the feet out underneath him once more. Samantha would then stand up as the man did then she would fake a stab to the left which the man would see as a fake and should grab Fear and yank it from her hands. Once the man's hands were full she would elbow his knee causing him to fall on to one knee then she would bring a kick up to his head sending the man back into unconscious.

It took Samantha half a minute to work out her plan and another minute to implement it. She picked up Fear from the floor and smiled over at the astonished guards who had watched the little session. Samantha walked over to the dummies she had designed and got to work training in her own little world.

Several hours later and many a dummy needing repair Samantha walked back into the library after a long shower and changing back into some comfy jeans and a t-shirt. Many of the people on Asgard found her attire strange especially when comparing it to the other Asgard women who were either in dresses or, like Sif, constantly in armour. Samantha didn't mind the looks though because she was comfortable in her jeans, she was in her armour as well but Samantha couldn't wear it every hour that she was awake. She may have been on a different realm but no one was going to take her jeans and t-shirts away from her.

She walked in not expecting Loki to be stood waiting by the chair she now called her own. She paused as Loki just stood staring at her. The anger and hate still filled his eyes.

"Loki, I didn't think before I said it." She said after a few minutes silence. She felt something wasn't right but she was too focused on Loki to realise what. Samantha swallowed all the pride she had before she could utter the next sentence. "I'm sorry"

"No now you're angry with yourself." He said with hate filling his words. Before Samantha could argue she felt something hit her around the head, her body fall to the floor and watched Loki's feet stalk towards her. Something bit into her arm and she realised she was being injected with something. Her eyes began to feel heavy and she couldn't keep them open as Loki's projection bent down so that Samantha could see his face. "But you will be sorry."

Then it went black.


	2. Teaching a lesson

Samantha slowly began to open her eyes to see a dim light grey room with no windows. Her head was throbbing and the world was spinning, it was as if she had a concussion again but 100 times worst. She tried to stand up but when she moved her hands she found them chained to the wall behind her. She groaned but couldn't find the energy to pull away from the bonds. Her head was spinning too much to blast the wall with her mind so she just had to sit there and wait for her senses to kick back in.

"I believe the human term is rise and shine." She heard Loki say. Samantha lifted her hand to see him smirking at her across the room, he was stood leaning against the wall watching her.

"Loki how did you escape?" She asked slowly as the words seemed alien in her mouth.

"I haven't I'm still in a cell this my dear Samantha is a projection." He told her. He walked forwards and crouched down to her level and passed his hand through her face. She felt nothing and knew he was telling the truth. She also knew that she must be in one of the prison cells underneath the palace as Samantha had used some of Loki's magic books to cast a spell that kept his projection within the palace walls.

She couldn't tell beforehand though if it was a projection as she was still trying to work out which of the two Loki's were real. Her eyes focused up though and she only saw one.

"What have you done to me?"

"I've done nothing. I may have said something to someone who may have talked to someone else but I personally have done nothing." His face was inches from hers and she tried to make her eyes hard but at the moment her priority was to stop herself from throwing up.

"What did they inject into me?" She asked.

"Well someone seems to have told someone that you can't fight back if you can't think straight, like hitting your head, so they just tripled the effect to subdue you for longer." He said. "I'm just guessing though." He laughed a little laugh and it was one Samantha did not like.

"Why are you here?"

"To see you learn your lesson. Once this is finished you can release me and then we can be happy families again, what do you say?" Samantha remained silent just staring into Loki's eyes. "No? Well I'm sorry for what has to happen next."

As he said the words a large man came into the room, she immediately recognised him as one of the guards she had beaten in training. He walked towards her while pulling a knuckle buster onto his hands. Samantha wondered where he had got it from but it wasn't long before she was more focused on her teeth. The man hit her straight across the jaw, she spat blood and looked up to Loki who tried not to wince. She could see in his eyes though that he wasn't enjoying the pain she was being put through.

"This will teach you respect for Asgard." The man then punched her in the gut knocking the wind out of her. "You are worth nothing; you're a piece of dirt, human." The man then pulled her hair and slammed her head back into the wall. Samantha could feel the blood run down her neck and Loki's eyes were no longer filled with anger but with pain. Samantha remained silent.

"I think I should talk to her." Loki said. The man barley turned around before a slight nod of the head then he left the room. Samantha spat more blood before she spoke.

"How did you get that one working for you then?" She asked.

"Like I said he doesn't work for me. I may have told someone where you would be who then may have told the man with a grudge where to find you. It only takes a little talking to get people to act out and humiliation is not something they take kind to here on Asgard." Loki walked back towards her and kneeled in front of her. His eyes looked over her injuries and his hand reached up to her face. His hand lingered just above her cheek as though if he was there in person he would reach out and touch her but then he remembered why she was here and his hand drew back and he stood up.

"I believe you've learnt to watch your tongue so you can free yourself any time you like." Loki told her not looking into her eyes.

"I can't escape—"

"Yes you can the drug wore off 5 minutes ago I can tell." He looked back at her and Samantha knew she couldn't lie. But she knew also what she had to do next.

"No."

"What?"

"I said no." Samantha told him. "When I'm in pain I can see you in pain so this is me teaching you a lesson."

"Samantha don't be stupid." Loki told her.

"I'm not this is actually quite clever." The door began to open and the man had a vial in his hand. Loki's eyes widened when he saw.

"What do you think you're doing?" He hissed at the man. "Where did you get that?"

"A man I know." The man said gruffly back. "Besides I just let you sit in and watch. I'm the one who decides when she can go and this human needs to be taught respect for her superiors."

"Please don't tell me you are referring to yourself as my superior?" Samantha asked. Both men turned to face her. "As I remember it was me that knocked you out in 30 seconds making me better than you." Samantha could see Loki's eyes warning her to stop but this was the plan. The plan she may have just come up with but the plan nonetheless. "Or do you not remember me beating you up in front of everyone?"

"Samantha—" Loki was cut off by the man storming towards her punching her straight in the nose. She could tell it was broken and she tried not taste the blood as she breathed through her mouth. Loki just stood back in horror looking at what his actions had caused.

The man then took the cap off the vial and started to drop it slowly on to Samantha's arm, the pain was immense as her skin literally sizzled when the acid made contact. Samantha didn't scream though instead she bit down on her tongue and looked Loki straight in the eye.

The man dropped more acid onto her other arm and Samantha was biting down so hard now she could feel more blood in her mouth. Still she remained silent and kept looking into Loki's eyes.

The torture continued for several hours and towards the end Samantha began to scream. She could hold it in any longer and the sound of her voice piercing the room seemed to give some relief but not enough for Samantha. All the time though she remained staring straight into Loki's eyes. He seemed to be in as much pain as she was.

The man left to go get more supplies and Loki disappeared as soon as he had closed the door. Samantha closed her eyes letting the tears fall now that Loki and the man had gone. She couldn't let them see this. The man re-entered and Samantha quickly tried to hold back the tears but was unsuccessful.

"Aw did I make the poor human cry?" The man asked. He chuckled to himself before his face went white. "Where has Loki gone?"

Before Samantha could tell him she didn't know Thor stormed into the room with Sif and the warriors three by his side. He caught sight of Samantha on the floor and rushed over to her. Sif came in and placed a dagger next to the man's neck and pressed him against a wall, Hogun and Fandal stood by her side. Volstagg went over to Thor's side.

"Hurry she needs medical attention." Thor told him and Volstagg picked Samantha up ripping the chains that held her from the wall. Thor broke the clasps on her hands and she could move again. She could see the cuts and bloody edges of where the chains had dug into her but the pain was masked by the burning sensation where the acid still lay on her skin. Volstagg lead her out of the room but she couldn't remember reaching the medical ward. She just remembered closing her eyes.

Then it was black once more...


	3. Assemble

"_Fury why have you called us in? Can you not keep everyone safe for at least a year?" Stark whined at the director of SHIELD. Samantha stood in the corner and watched. Ever since she had come to Asgard instead of dreaming about Speki's life her mind had began to wonder and she found it travelled a lot to the SHIELD control room. It was like her trick that she could see into rooms she had been in before but she had no control over where it went. This scene was unusual as instead of just being the usual SHIELD agents scurrying around, the room was filled by the Avengers. Samantha didn't feel too good about this._

"_Glad to see you too Stark" Fury hit back with. "I wish I could say that we could but there have been some recent developments that we don't like."_

"_Are you talking about Hughes sir?" Natasha asked._

"_Yes well it seems he has managed to have contact with a business associate who has taken up his plans." Fury told the group. "Agent Green has been monitoring the situation." Gareth stepped away from the computers and spoke to the group. From what Samantha had seen, Gareth was now Fury's right hand man and she rarely saw one without the other._

"_We believe that he's building an army but he's missing something and we don't know what. When Samantha first took Hughes down the machine was just in the prototype stage and only worked at one person at a time. Now though we have reason to believe that his partner may have cracked the final bug in the system." Gareth told everyone._

"_I still don't understand why you need us sir." Rogers said. "This sounds like a relatively small problem that you could fix without us."_

"_You would think that but we can't find this partner because we don't know who it is. He seems to get other groups to do his work leaving no connection behind for us to trace. We called you all in because if he does complete this army, you'll be the ones to stop it." Gareth carried on._

"_But we don't want it to get to that stage." Fury told the group. _

"_Do we have any idea what this missing ingredient is?" Banner asked. He didn't look too comfortable to be there but he was definitely better than last time._

"_No." Gareth admitted to the group._

"_And is it likely they know what it is?" Barton asked this time._

"_Yes" Gareth said. "It seems they are just waiting for it."_

"_So you see why we've brought you in." Fury told the group._

"_What about the kiddo and the God? Have you got any contact with them?" Stark asked. Samantha had grown strangely use to the name he now called her._

"_No." Gareth seemed to be the fall guy today._

"_So we have an unknown enemy with mind control and an army waiting for that last little thing which we have no idea what it is but they are just waiting for it. Then the only person who could figure this out and has experience at this is in another realm?" Stark asked. Gareth just nodded his head. "Fantastic." Sarcasm dripping from his voice._

_The scene then changed to one she knew exactly. She turned and was stabbed._

Samantha lunged forward in the bed. Her eyes were wide and her breathing heavy. She looked around the room to see Loki watching her. She gained control of her breathing once again and sunk back into her bed.

She remained silent and waited for him to break it.

"Samantha I-" He took care choosing his words. "I am sorry...for causing you this pain...I should have gotten Thor earlier" She turned her head to look at him. "I shouldn't have done it at all."

"Well we both learnt a lesson didn't we?" She said. "I learnt not to let you wined me up and you learnt that hurting others isn't the answer." They looked at each other for a moment before Samantha broke into a smirk. Loki smirked back. "So what miracle of a medicine have you given me that I'm not in any pain at this moment in time and all physical damage seems to have faded from my skin?"

"That is an Asgard secret." He told her.

"Well is it portable?" She asked.

"You are not going anywhere." He told her. "You are going to stay in this bed."

"If only." She mumbled before Thor entered into the room.

"Lady Samantha I hope you are well but—" Samantha cut Thor off.

"Give me 10 minutes then I'll be ready to go." Thor nodded and walked out of the room. Realisation dawned on Loki's face on why Samantha had asked for portable pain killers.

"You are staying here Samantha." He told her.

"Earth needs me." She stood up to get out of bed and managed to not fall over, just.

"Samantha stop this. You can barely walk, how much use will you be to your little hero squad if you keep falling down?" Loki asked. He followed her around her room as she began to pack. She changed into her armour as she did so, Asgard had treated her well and she now had more things to call her own. She particularly liked the new armour it had given her with mixtures of both Speki's and her own designs.

"Earth is my home Loki I have to do whatever I can to protect it." She became bored of packing quickly and mentally began to sort out her luggage. She sat on her bed watching the clothes fly into her bag. Loki sat down next to her.

"I don't want you to go. You might get hurt" He looked into her eyes and she saw how much he cared for her. But when she looked she did raise an eye brow at him. "More, you might get hurt more. I can barely cope seeing you like this"

"I might but it's part of the job." She reached up and hovered her fingers above his forehead making the motion of sweeping back his hair. "I promise you that I will come back safe and sound."

"I'll hold you to that promise." He whispered. The bag was packed and she broke the moment by placing it around her back. She began to leave the room but Loki's voice made her turn around.

"Samantha, never doubt that I love you." He said and she saw no lies in his words.

"I love you too Loki." She told him. And she did. Before she was in love with the man in her dreams but Samantha realised now that she loved the real Loki and the year she had spent on Asgard had strengthened that love. She gave him a sad smile before leaving to the Bifrost.

Thor was there waiting for her with the Tesseract in his hands. Loki did not join them out on the Bifrost as the boundary for his projection was within the palace. Samantha was now regretting that magic trick she cast to confine him.

Samantha nodded to Heimdall as she reached forward to take hold of the other end of the Tesseract. The gate keeper nodded back and it was the last thing she saw of Asgard before she felt her body be transported. Some part of her deep down knew that it would be the last she would ever see of it.


	4. Jeffeson

"I hope you didn't miss us too much." Samantha said as she and Thor materialised in the middle of the control room to the astonished faces of the Avengers. Gareth is the first to recover and grabbed Samantha into a hug. "Nice to see you too Gareth." She whispered.

"Welcome back kiddo, you two big fella." Stark walked over and held his hand out for Thor to shake. Unaware of the human tradition Thor just grabbed Stark into a hug. Gareth and Samantha break apart and Samantha turned to the room.

"Samantha great to see you again." Rogers came over and held his hand out to her and she shook it.

"You too Rogers. How's life been treating you?" Samantha asked.

"As much as to be expected when you've been a popsicle for 70 odd years." Rogers smirked at her and Samantha smiled back. Rogers then went to see Thor and Samantha moved on to Dr Banner. "Banner you look...different."

"Yeah well Tony has helped a lot. He gave me back my life as a scientist and I haven't seen the other guy since you were last here." His smile is still shy but Samantha can see a renewed life in him.

"How was Budapest?" She asked the two assassins next. Both just looked at her. "I assumed that's where you would be going to sort stuff out between you." Both remained impassive as ever. "Good to see you too." At this a small smile crossed Natasha's face and Barton had a small smirk of his own.

"Now that we're all introduced again may I ask how the hell did you know we needed you?" Fury asked.

"Hemidall sees everything Nick Fury. Never forget that." Thor looked at Fury and Samantha knew that after SHIELD's last try at trying to harness Asgard technology, Thor had made sure the gate keeper always had an eye on the one eyed man.

"So Hughes is working with someone?" Samantha asked.

"Why am I not surprised that you know?" Fury asked. Samantha just chuckled and sat down. She brought a computer up on the desk and began to look through files. How she missed computers she thought. "Wait what are you doing Jennings? Those aren't the files on this case."

"I know but after last time I just want to check through your database that nothing that shouldn't be is going on." Samantha easily hacked into the main frame and as the numbers zoom past her eyes she took every single one in. Once satisfied she turned the screen back onto Hughes' file. "Done, now Hughes. Anything new on finding out where his partner is?"

"If we had any idea of where to start that might help." Stark said sitting down in a chair opposite Samantha deflated.

"I thought this Hughes person was in your custody?" Thor asked. Thor knew about Hughes and what was going on, he had discussed it with Heimdall who had seen everything unfold at SHIELD. However this partner was masking himself from Heimdall which was slightly worrying.

"He is but his partner is not." Fury said.

"I would start with Isaac Jeffeson." Samantha told the group while projecting a picture of him for them all to see.

"Who?" Rogers asked.

"Isaac Jeffeson. When I was working on the Hughes case I noticed a lot of investment from a single bank account. I tracked it back to this guy and when I left SHIELD I paid the Norwegian a visit. The man had appeared to have no idea what was going on with his money and actually died a week after I visited, from what I believe the case was never solved. However after looking through your files I would never mistake that 20 digit bank code anywhere. The clue you got from your informant matches it exactly." She told the group. She couldn't understand though how the supposedly dead Norwegian was involved.

"Yes how can you mistake a 20 digit bank code?" Stark asked sarcastically.

"What clue?" Banner asked.

"An insider who we lost several weeks ago gave us a note and in it he said that we could find the link to the partner." Gareth told the group.

"That seems a little suspicious." Natasha said.

"Suspicious or not it's the only lead we have so get to work tracking this guy's money down and who he was connected to." Fury told the group. They had their marching orders and they left the room to get to work.

"Samantha wait up." Gareth jogged to her side. The rest of the group disappeared into various rooms and Samantha headed to the lab she hoped was still in the same place. "Wow Asgard treated you well."

"Thank you." Samantha only noticed now how toned her muscles had become and how slim she was. She also realised that she walked a little taller with better posture on the other hand she also took notice of the fact she looked down slightly at the walls of the Hellicarrier. Before the whole hellicarrier had amazed her with all the hi-tech but compared to the view on Asgard it was slightly pathetic. Stop thinking like that Samantha told herself. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and returned to the conversation with Gareth hoping to distract herself. "You look good too."

"What's it like then, the realm of the Gods?" Gareth asked her.

"Amazing but it lacks stuff the Earth has like the Earth lacks things Asgard has." She told him smirking, though what Earth lacks greatly outweighs what Asgard lacks. Samantha was once again taken aback at where her thoughts were directed and the 'snobbishness' of them. Earth is your home Samantha never forget that she reminded herself. She looked back to Gareth who was returning her smirk.

_Oh please tell him to stop smirking it makes me feel sick. Don't you have work to be getting on with Samantha? _

Samantha jumped back in fright at Loki's voice in her head. Gareth gave her a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" Gareth asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, just glad to be back." She gave him a small smile before someone else joined them.

"Gareth you said you would go over the case file notes on the Tienson case." Agent Maria Hill joined them and Samantha immediately knew that Gareth hadn't told her something yet. "Miss Jennings glad to see you again."

"Call me Samantha." Samantha smiled glad it was someone she liked that Gareth had chosen.

"I'll be right there I'm just catching up with Samantha." Gareth smiled at her and she watched his eyes light up.

"I'll see you around Samantha." Hill smiled at her and walked back the way she came. Samantha knew that if Gareth didn't, Hill would one day run SHIELD.

"So when were you going to tell me Gareth?" Samantha asked playfully once Hill had turned a corner.

"Tell you what?" Gareth was now confused.

"That you and Agent Hill are dating." She stated at which Gareth blushed a deep red.

"How did you-" Gareth began to ask.

"I just know these things, I'm glad you found someone that I like." She smirked at him. "Now go help her I think if I can remember 20 digit sequence I can remember where the labs are. We'll talk later." Gareth smiled at her then followed Hill back to the control room.

_Finally I thought he would never leave you alone, are you sure he's not just an annoying side kick?_

Samantha quickly ducked into a room nearest to her so she could think straight. Maybe it was the pain killers she had taken with her from Asgard. She had nearly healed thanks to the unreal medicine there however it may be affecting her mind. How was Loki communicating with her?

_The telepathic link I set up between us still works so I can talk to you whenever I want. By the way you should tell Gareth that if he ever averts his gaze from your eyes again then I will personally gouge those eyes from their sockets._

Loki answered her question. Great Loki was going to be constantly in her head and there was nothing she could do about it. She tried to send him angry vibes but she knew that she was glad she had this connection with him; it made her feel the little bit more confident and safe. Although Samantha could imagine her conversations with Gareth were going to be a little less enjoyable.


	5. Connected

"_So let me get this straight." Samantha said. "Not only can we communicate through our minds when I'm awake but when I'm asleep I am also connected with you and we return here?"_

"_Yes didn't I just explain that?" Loki asked._

"_Yes but I wanted to check." She smirked at him but then her face turned harsh. "Okay I don't mind you talking to me but you have to be quiet when I'm talking to others."_

"_I'm not that bad." Loki said with a mischievous grin on his face._

"_Well you try and listen to Stark when you have someone constantly whispering down your ear about how he should just shut up? Or how I should try and provoke Banner just for fun?"_

"_Yes I admit that can be distracting." Loki said at which Samantha threw her hands in the air and lay down in the meadow._

"_Any leads on Jeffeson?" Loki asked lying down next to her._

_She sighed. "One minute he's healthy and meeting with me talking about how he plans to sort his company out, the next the guy drops dead. No family, no friends it's like the guy never existed. They all think I'm crazy but they won't admit it."_

"_You're just as sane as I am." Samantha couldn't help but laugh at what he said. "What's so funny?"_

"_You just quoted one of my all time favourite movies." She kept laughing and her laugh became infectious and Loki couldn't help but smile back. "I am officially insane."_

"_I view it as I'm the only sane one and the rest of you have lost your minds." Loki told her. _

"_You would." She smiled at him and turned to lie on her side. She realised part of her was touching Loki and she pulled back in surprise._

"_Samantha?"_

"_I just touched you. How is that possible?" She reached forward again expecting for her hand to go straight through his stomach but instead when it reached his armour, she could rest her hand on it. Loki looked down at her hand then took it in his and examined it._

"_Well this is a dream were both are minds are connected so we are as real as each other." He began to explain. His voice was soft and quiet. "So I assume that's why we can touch one another." She stepped towards him and with her other hand she swept back a single piece of hair that had fallen from his usual perfect style._

"_Why did you never try this before?" She asked. Though she wanted to be with him and wanted him by her side she knew that he was not yet ready to be released into the world and that this dream like reality would be the only time they could physically be with each other._

"_Samantha you are angry with me when I invade your private area where you keep all your childhood memories. I was not going to risk joining you in a dream if I wanted to talk to you that month."_

"_When you put it that way." She smiled at him and he smirked back. Loki reached out his free hand and traced the faint scar on her cheek where it had been gashed last year. It would fade with time. It was at that stage that if you were looking for it you would find it but not by accident. His touch was gentle and she felt herself melt into his hands._

_He reached down towards her lips but stopped just before they touched. He waited for her to close the gap which she did almost straight away. His kiss was better than she ever remembered. She moved her hands to his hair while Loki placed his on the side her face holding him to her. She never wanted this moment to end but a voice was calling for her._

"_Samantha wake up we have a hit." She recognised the voice belonging to Gareth and as she pulled her lips back from Loki the scene was already changing. She didn't care at that moment though instead she just rested her forehead on Loki's._

"_I have to go." She said but with little enthusiasm._

"_Stay." Loki kissed her lips again. _

"_I wish I could but the quicker I finish this the sooner I can come back to Asgard." She reached up and kissed him this time but after she had to step away. "Loki I think you should go."_

"_Why? I thought we were getting-" Loki stopped himself once he realised what the scene had changed into. _

"_I have to wake up." She smiled sadly at him. He took hold of her hand and stood next to her waiting for his younger self to appear._

"_Did I always look that innocent and annoying?" Loki asked bringing a smile to her face._

"_Yep now you're just annoying." And for once when she had a smile in her face when she felt her heart being punctured._

Samantha jolted awake to Gareth stood waiting with his arms folded across his chest.

"I know you're fine, it's how you wake up." Gareth said before she could tell him what was going on. He really did pay attention she thought. "We got a tip that a deal was going down tonight which links with our mysterious partner. Natasha is already stationed there with Barton but you need to be on standby with the others in case anything happens."

"I'll be in the control room in 5 minutes." Gareth left her to get changed and exactly five minutes later Samantha walked into the control room in her armour with Fear sheathed in the back. "How's it going?"

Nobody turned around as all eyes were focused on the screen watching Natasha at work but Samantha knew it was wrong.

"Pull Natasha and Barton out of there now." She said. Now she had grabbed everyone's attention. She stormed forward to the mike connected to the assassins' ear pieces. "Get out of there. They know who you are it's a trap."

"Jennings what are you-" Fury began to ask before it all kicked off on screen.

"They knew all along, it was to draw us out into the open." Samantha grabbed hold of Thor and Rogers and pressed a few buttons on her watch. "Hold on boys."

She pressed the red button and she felt herself transported to the ground below.


	6. Taken

Samantha as soon as she touched the ground whipped Fear out and sent it into the shoulder of the man attempting to shoot Iron Man zooming over head, then summoned it back. Samantha had never killed anyone and planned to keep it that way. She saw a group of men in the corner trying to escape. She flipped over another group coming towards her as she left Thor and Rogers to deal with them.

All 4 men turned around to face her. It would be too easy to knock them out with her mind and she fancied a challenge. Two men were drinkers so reflexes would be slow while another looked like a trained professional. He would have to go first she thought. The other one looked like a new recruit and could easily be frightened with the right technique.

First she would swipe kick the professional sending him to the floor. Then she would smack the two drinker's heads together knocking both out. The large men would have stood up by now so she would punch him across the jaw which he would block but she would knee him in the gut and bring Fear around to send him to the floor knocking the man out cold. The newbie would just sit and watch then cower in fear. This would be the one to crack and tell them what they need to know.

That would have been the plan though if a hammer didn't come flying through them all and knocking each one to the ground. Samantha turned around to watch the hammer fly back into Thor's hand. She just gave him a nod in thanks even though she didn't need him.

All of a sudden Samantha felt like something else was happening. It seemed like a gut instinct but it wasn't, it was more along the lines of something calling to her. She bent down and saw a key card on one of the men which she reached for and took. The other warehouses seemed to spark an interest in her and Samantha assumed the card could get her into them. She stepped outside ignoring the battle behind her. One called to her especially and she could feel her feet moving towards it without realising.

"Jennings where are you going?" Fury asked in her ear piece.

"I think one of the warehouses holds something." She said continuing to walk away from the others.

"Jennings get back and help." He told her.

"They've got it covered." She wasn't listening though as her mind was too distracted on why she was so pulled to this one warehouse.

"Jennings wait for back up—" Samantha threw her ear piece to the ground. Thinking back on it, it was probably the worst idea she had ever had but in that moment in time Fury was annoying her and something told her to just walk to that warehouse and go inside.

She swiped the key card and walked in. It was nearly pitch black apart from the moonlight streaming in from the windows. Samantha held Fear in her hands knowing someone was watching her.

She walked further and further into the building until she came across an open door. Samantha didn't know why she went inside but she did and no sooner had she crossed the threshold did the door slam shut behind her. Samantha whirled around banging her fists on the door and trying to kick it open but nothing would work. She also began to cough.

Her eye sight turned slightly blurry as she tried to focus on blasting the door off its hinges but she could feel herself swaying and she couldn't concentrate. It was just like that drug the man had given her back on Asgard.

She slowly sunk to her knees and as she looked up she saw the air vents pumping in a slightly off colour air and then Samantha released, she had been drugged. This was a trap and it had been set up for her. She tried to fight it but she felt her grip loosen on Fear and her eyes slowly beginning to close as she collapsed on to the floor.

"_I want you to get into that warehouse now so I can give Jennings hell!" Fury was screaming down the ear pieces at the Avengers. Samantha's mind had wandered and had led her back to the group surrounded by some dead and others unconscious. They were never meant to be defeated only distracted Samantha now realised._

"_Come on we better find Samantha before Fury does." Stark told the group and the headed over to where Samantha should be._

"_Guys a car just left the place. I'm tracking it now but it left before we could get any numbers." Banner said down the microphone. He had refrained from joining them saying the other guy only needed to come out when the battle was serious._

_Iron Man blasted the door down and was accompanied by Thor and Rogers. Barton and Natasha had remained to try and find worthy candidates for interrogation._

"_Oh kiddo, come out, come out wherever you are." Stark called as if he was playing hide and seek. Thor just stormed ahead following the exact same path Samantha had taken. Thor had adopted the role of protective older brother over Samantha and she could tell that he was worried by her absence and wandering off alone._

_He came across the room where the door was still closed. Thor quickly disposed of it with __Mjǫlnir and walked into the room. He stopped though when he saw what was lying on the ground. Stark and Rogers joined him and both remained silent when they saw also._

"_Rogers have you got Jennings yet?" Fury asked._

"_No sir." Rogers said. Thor's anger surged through him as he hurled __Mjǫlnir into the wall knocking a large hole in it._

"_It was a distraction." Stark said. "The whole time it was a trap within a trap." His words became angry as he realised they had all been tricked. "Why do they want her though?"_

"_Who?" Fury asked. "Where is Jennings?" Fury demanded to know._

"_Gone sir." Rogers replied._

"_Gone?"_

"_I think taken would be a better word Cap." Stark said._

"_Do they mean to mock us by leaving this?"__ Thor asked motioning to what lay on the ground._

"_No." Stark said. "To let us know that they have her."_

_All three men returned to looking at Fear that lay on the ground and Samantha found herself ripped from her sleep by something hard hitting her across the face._


	7. The Face of the Company

Stars danced in Samantha's vision as her eyes shot open into an unbearably light room. The bright lights and white walls seem to intensify the head ache she was suffering from and she couldn't tell whether she was standing up or sitting down. She slowly and painfully looked up to see a figure stood in front of her. He was dressed in a smart black suit and if Samantha could she would sending him flying high into the air.

The man must have hit her as now the pain in her jaw seemed the newest and was burning, not aching like the rest of her body. Where was some Asgard medicine when you needed it? She thought. The man in the suit had slicked back brown hair with a line that was receding. His tummy wasn't a full beer belly but Samantha guessed another couple of years and he would have one to boast. This man saw himself above everyone else and Samantha couldn't wait to send a punch his way.

"Ah good I see you're awake." The man said. His voice was slightly accented probably from a child hood in Eastern Europe but he had obviously spent a lot of time in an English speaking country for his accent to have disappeared so much. Samantha tried to keep eye contact with him but she could feel her head wanting to drop down again and she was using all her energy to keep it in place. "I hope you don't mind the medicine we're giving you Miss Jennings but we couldn't afford for you to able to use that neat little trick of sending people flying into the air with just a thought."

Samantha remained silent and just looked at the man. Just what she needed with a headache, a bad guy who likes the sound of his own voice.

"Now you're probably wondering why we went to all this trouble to get you? Why would someone as important as me want with an annoying girl trying to play grownups?" His eye brows raised on his face just asking for her to talk back. Of course Samantha knew why they had kidnapped her but she didn't want to open her mouth in case the sick she was forcing down came spewing out. "Well I'm sure you are already aware at SHIELD that we need a little ingredient for the perfect soldier."

Now she imagined the man planned to go into a huge speech telling her all about his evil plan and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Samantha knew that this man was not the leader but the face of the company. He believed he was in charge and everyone followed his orders. He was wrong of course. Someone else called the shots and was just using this idiot's plan to help their own. Let him do all the hard work and take the fall then when the authorities were focusing on him they would strike. However Samantha knew that the unknown villain needed her as well or they wouldn't risk trying to bring her in. Now what they wanted her for was the real question and the one Samantha was worried about.

"And you Samantha are that little ingredient." He said pulling Samantha out of her thoughts. She started to regain some control and the world was no longer spinning. Just 5 more minutes and she would be gone. "You see imagine an army of skilled fighting soldiers who can throw people with their minds. So intelligent that no lock system or tactics could ever beat them. Imagine that and you can imagine the army I'm going to create. You see Miss Jennings none of the rest of your group are suitable. Captain America was a likely candidate but we needed someone clever; Stark can only fight with the suit; the two assassins are killing machines but don't feel loyalty like you do. We then move on the God of Thunder but I can imagine he's a little harder to contain than yourself and just likes to bash things and finally do you want a bunch of Hulk's flying around?" He didn't wait for her answer. "No I didn't think you would."

Samantha just kept staring. She could now control her thoughts again and knew it was only a matter of moments before she could break free. She wasn't even in chains; they seem to believe the drug would subdue her for longer.

"So you see why you have the honour of getting picked."

"Why not just grab a drop of my blood? Much easier than this." Samantha made sure her words sounded slurred. She tried to keep him talking for just that little bit longer.

"Because we need more than just a drop of blood and we're not going to succeed the first time. So we need you around for a constant supply." He told her like she was a four year old. "Of course it will be a painful process extracting your DNA from your body, especially bone marrow, and we don't have the luxuries of anaesthetic but I'm sure you'll be pleased with the outcome when we get it."

"If you get it." She told him smirking and the man realised her words were clear. He ran to the door but she kicked him straight in the head sending him to the floor. She stood up and for the first time noticed that she was not in her armour but in a hospital gown. She yearned for Fear but she could tell it was not close by so she would have to get out of the building with just her bare hands.

She hurried to where the man had gone expecting to find a door. She did and left running down the corridor. Samantha kept going turning corner after corner. After several minutes of running she found the door which lead to outside, weird she thought, no one had attempted to stop her. She became suspicious of the door but it was her only option so she hurried to the handle but stopped just before she reached it.

As much as she tried to force her hand she just couldn't reach out to the door. She stood straining to move her body but instead found herself backing away from the door. What the hell is going on she thought. She had the urge to turn around and she did just that to see a group of scientists staring and guard's guns pointing at her. The man in the suit sporting a newly blackened eye, walked forward pressing a device in his hand, Samantha recognised it straight away.

"Hughes actually did a good job with this but it only worked on a simple minded person." He said smirking at her. "Like Agent Green for example, you on the other hand have caused me to amplify it by a good 120% which on a normal person may cause severe damage, because you're unique we have no idea what the effect will be on you. Let's find out shall we. Come here." Samantha found her feet moving towards him despite the protests coming from her mind. The question to why she had been drawn to that warehouse had now been answered.

"Good girl." The man said as if she were a dog. "Now the problem we have with it is that it will only work for a small amount of time at this level so if you don't mind we need you to be all incompetent again." The man nodded his head and a scientist rushed forward with a needle. She felt it soon pushed into her arm and the world beginning to turn black. "Sweet dreams." The man smiled down at her before kicking her in the face sending her to the floor.

"_Do we have any idea where she could be?" Fury asked the group. She's stood in the SHIELD headquarters wishing she could do a Loki and actually project an image of herself. She wanted to shout out she was there, though where her body was she had no idea._

"_Vehicle plates came back negative." Banner said_

"_This is my entire fault; she told us it was a trap." Gareth blamed himself. He looked as though he had aged years since the last she saw of him. How long she had been out for she didn't know._

"_Green don't blame yourself she was the one who walked into the warehouse without back up." Rogers told him while patting him on the back. _

"_I still don't understand why they took Samantha." Natasha said._

"_We don't know either Natasha but we're going to." Stark told her and Samantha could see real concern for her in his eyes. _

"_I am sorry my friends but I must leave you for a few hours." Thor said coming back into the room with the Tesseract holder and the Tesseract itself in his hands._

"_Thor you cannot leave while Samantha is out there." Gareth looked enraged that Thor could leave at a time like this._

"_Do not doubt my worry for Lady Samantha." Thor warned Gareth. "But I must return to Asgard and tell Loki of the developments. He was very much against Lady Samantha coming in the first place and if he knows she is in danger then he can be relied upon to help track her down."_

"_Wait up big man, you are not bringing Loki back here." Stark said._

"_I never said I would." Thor told Stark. "But if anyone can find Samantha it will be Loki."_

_Before any of the others could protest Thor twisted the handle and was sent off into space. _

The scene then went black and Samantha felt her eyes shoot open as something pierced her skin. This wasn't like the usual way she woke up but ten times worse. This was real life and she looked down and saw the massive needle in her arm taken her bone marrow. She screamed aloud knowing that their drug stopped her from thinking straight but it did not stop the pain that she felt. She felt tears come to her eyes and all she wished for was to have Loki by her side but she knew that would not happen.

Little did she know of what was unfolding on Asgard.


	8. The 8th Avenger

"_WHAT?" Loki screamed at Thor. Samantha stood and watched as the God of Mischief's anger exploded. "Where is she?"_

"_We don't know brother."_

"_You are not my brother." Loki hissed. "I couldn't care less for the mortals but I asked one thing of you! One thing! And you fail at that."_

"_Lady Samantha wandered off alone and she can protect herself." Thor tried to reason but Loki was having none of it._

"_Then where is she?" Loki looked angrier than Samantha had ever seen. His eyes looked like rocks and if there in person, he could have murder Thor right on the spot. _

"_That is what I came to ask you brother." Thor said._

"_I do not know. I have tried contacting her but her mind is blocked. Her signal has interference." Loki said. Samantha had wondered why Loki hadn't spoken to her recently but this now explained it. "Her mind is scattered and I do not like it. I knew she should have never left."_

"_You can talk to Lady Samantha?" Thor asked._

"_Of course I can" He sniped at Thor. Loki now began to pace the floor with his thinking face on._

A pair of hands cut layers of skin off her stomach. Samantha screamed as the pain intensified and she found herself blacking out again.

"_Loki!" Samantha screamed trying to grab his attention. She stood in their field alone. His form soon appeared though. Loki could be in two places at once with a mind like his but Samantha could barley project this form._

"_Samantha what-" Loki's eyes turned from angry into pain as he saw all the cuts and bruises of the experimenting on her. Samantha didn't have enough time and just ran to hug him. Loki hugged her back wrapping his arms tightly around her protecting her from the world. He kissed the top of head._

"_I can only make this last a few minutes. It has been a while since they drugged me." She told him just enjoying him holding her. "They are giving me this drug like the one the man gave me before on Asgard." Samantha could feel Loki's arms wrap tighter around at the mention of her torture. "It means I can't fight back and I can't talk to you."_

"_You are weak I can feel it." Loki pulled back a little bit to look into her eyes. "Samantha I will save you. I will hunt these pathetic mortals down and cause them a thousand times the pain they have caused you."_

"_No Loki, pain is not the best revenge but humiliation. Beat them that causes the most pain." She stroked his cheek and reached up to kiss him but before she did she felt the stabbing sensation. She screamed and fell. But before she collided with the floor, Loki's strong arms caught her and held her. Samantha could see the dream begin to turn blurry and her own image start to fade._

"_I am coming for you Samantha" Loki told her looking straight into her eyes. A new fire burned behind them. "I will find you."_

Samantha screamed again as another part of her body was sliced. She couldn't control her mind and sent the person holding the scalpel, flying into the air. Another man came forward and injected her with her 'medicine'. Samantha felt drowsy again and felt her eyes close.

"_Loki I cannot allow you to leave." Odin said clearly. Thor stood off to the side and Loki's projection stood defiantly in front of the Allfather. "You may assist though in tracking Lady Samantha down."_

"_No." Loki told him bluntly. There was no time for games and tricks in the trickster's eyes. "I must find her."_

"_I believe Loki should be allowed to travel." Thor said. Loki looked taken aback by Thor taking his side but he quickly covered the shock. "I will be there to watch over him and the humans will as well."_

"_I am sorry but-"_

"_Father please." Loki said. It was now Odin's turn to look surprised. Loki had not called him father in a long time and Odin saw a new found hope in him. Samantha wanted to jump in at this point. Yes she wanted Loki and yes she would do anything to be with him; for him to be with her right now and whisk her away from this table. But Odin couldn't free him. Loki was not ready. "I promise that as soon as Samantha is well I will return here and serve out the rest of my sentence." _

_This time is was Samantha's turn to be surprised. She saw no lies in Loki's words. _

"_If you do not allow me to go then you may as well throw away the key to my cell." Loki carried on. "Because if I do not go and save her then she will die. Those band of heroes Thor associates with will never find her without my help." Loki had passion in each word. "So throw away that key because if Samantha does die there will be nothing in the nine realms that will be able to stop me from destroying that little world."_

"_You are not helping your case Loki." Odin warned._

"_Maybe not for full release" Loki shrugged uncaring for the fact. _

"_Father is there is one thing we know is that Loki loves Lady Samantha and as long as she is in danger he can be relied upon." Thor took care with his words and Samantha could see his longing to have his brother back, fighting side by side._

"Now just hold still." A scientist with a mask over their face commanded of Samantha. Without releasing her body had tried to fight back and began to move making it impossible to put another needle in her.

"What's going on?" The man in the suit came into the room asking.

"She won't stay still." The person told the man. "We should probably rest though. Give her time to recover."

"Oh yes I forgot about that. I want to see how long it takes the god like recovery to take place." The man's face lit up with glee before he left the room. Samantha received one last injection before the unknown scientist also left.

_She stood with Loki and Thor both holding ends of the Tesseract. Whatever Samantha had missed had convinced Odin that Loki could travel as it was no longer a projection but the real Loki stood in front of her._

"_Loki I have restricted your powers before you go allowing only your basic forms of magic." Odin told him standing just in front of his throne. "Be warned Loki that if you stray from the path set forth in front of you in the well being of Lady Samantha, then the consequences will be severe. Remember Heimdall sees everything." _

_Loki just nodded his head and turned his gaze to Thor. They both turned the dials at the same time and Samantha could feel herself be transported with them. They materialised in the middle of the control room and within 3 seconds every gun in the room was pointed at Loki. Loki raised his hands innocently with a small smirk on his face._

"_Damn, and there I thought you wouldn't remember me." Loki told the group and Samantha could feel herself smile. _


	9. Green and Odinson

"_Thor please explain to me why you have the man who destroyed half of New York City in the middle of my control room?" Fury asked. His gun did not waver._

"_Only half? I will have to try better next time." Loki purred quietly and Samantha could feel herself being entertained. Maybe because of the constant torturing she found the simplest things funny, anything to distract her mind._

"_Brother you are not helping." Thor said. Loki's lips became tight and he shot a warning look at Thor. Loki was not overjoyed in the way Thor talked to him. "Fury, Samantha is missing and Loki only wishes to help."_

"_How can we believe the God of Lies?" Gareth asked. Loki's eyes looked at Gareth's gun trained at his head then Loki's eyes looked at Gareth and Samantha saw them harden. If the look he gave Thor moments ago could kill this new look directed at Gareth would be sending him to Hel and back, twice. Samantha saw Gareth physically stiffen and his grip become tighter over the gun._

"_I understand your worry but Loki's magic has been dimmed." Thor tried to re assure the group. _

"_I wouldn't even have had to be here if you had been able to look after your pathetic planet." Loki sneered at the group but his eyes remained locked onto Gareth's. "Maybe if you could tell when something is a trap Samantha wouldn't have been captured and now being tortured on."_

"_Tortured?" Gareth's voice broke. _

"_Yes tortured." Loki stated. His eyes seemed hard but Samantha could see the pain in them. The rest of the room fell silent for a few moments before someone next spoke._

"_How do you know?" Rogers asked._

"_I have a telepathic link to Samantha which is now being interfered with. But I do catch glimpses." He paused as the words seemed to catch in his throat. "Her kidnapper seems to believe Samantha's DNA holds the clue to something."_

"_I don't understand why she just doesn't throw people away with her mind?" Stark wondered aloud._

"_If Samantha is not thinking straight for example if she has a concussion she cannot use her mind effectively." Loki explained._

"_Well how do they sustain that effect? With her rapid healing it would not take very long for her to recover." Bruce then asked._

"_There are drugs that can induce the feeling." Natasha said. "I have used them in the past."_

_Once again the room was plunged into silence but not for as long this time._

"_She's the missing ingredient." Stark said to himself. Everyone's, par Gareth's and Loki's, eyes fell on to Stark. "Don't you see? Imagine the army they could create with a replica of Samantha's DNA."_

"_But it still doesn't explain why Samantha walked into a warehouse by herself." Rogers said._

"_That one I can't explain either." Stark admitted._

"You were right doctor the healing process was quick." The man in the suit said staring down at Samantha. Her eyes began to open but she could not concentrate. Her head felt as if it was splitting in two and the slightest sound would cause it to crumble. "Another excellent attribute we must add to the list for you Miss Jennings."

"You don't understand." She whispered. Her lips were dry and her tongue unused. The energy it took to say those few words seemed to simulate her trying to take out the whole Asgard army. But the man in the suit didn't understand. What made her special wasn't in her DNA and no amount of experimenting was going to find the secret ingredient to his imaginary army.

"No but we soon will." The man smiled at her and gave the nod as more needles and knives began to crave at her skin.

"Sir the SHIELD hellicarrier seems to have acquired a new soldier." A faint voice said. Samantha tried to focus on it but the sound became more and more distant.

"Well let's send him a welcome present." The man in the suit said and Samantha could feel the smile in his voice. Her eyes began to once again close.

_When Samantha returned to the scene all guns were still trained on Loki who was also still locked into a staring contest with Gareth._

"_You must believe that as long as Samantha is in danger we can rely on my brother." Thor told the group. Samantha wanted to warn them of the impending danger but she didn't know how. She could see the red lights on the screen as something was fast approaching the hellicarrier but all eyes were focused on Loki._

_Samantha exerted all the energy she could, just one message was all she needed to warn the group._

_**Loki listen to me.**__ Samantha sent the silent message out. _

_**Samantha?**__ She heard Loki yell back._

_**Just shut up and listen.**__ Samantha shot back. __**I can't make this message last long. The ship is about to be attacked. Get ready.**_

"_Sorry to interrupt the conversation but you're about to get attacked." Loki's gaze remained locked onto Gareth's but he pointed at the screen where lights were flashing red behind him without moving anything other than his arm. Agents quickly forgot about the God and hurried to their stations trying to prepare the ship, all except Gareth whose gun remained pointing at Loki._

"_Sir we have a 2 missiles heading directly for us. If hit the computer estimates both engine one and four will be down." Agent Hill told Fury._

"_Where are our shields?" Fury asked._

"_Something's blocking them sir, they've been disabled." Hill's voice now took on a sense of urgency. The red dots were heading closer and closer to the middle though what happened next Samantha did not see coming._

_Loki pushed Fury out of the way and began to type furiously on the screen usually controlled by the director._

"_What the-" Fury began to say but Thor cut him off._

"_Loki works best when not distracted." He told the director of SHIELD. Thor's face now took on a look of pride and Samantha could feel her face form a little smirk._

"_Sir shields are back online." Hill informed Fury seconds later._

"_What about the missiles aren't they still heading straight towards us?" Banner asked._

_Thor just put his finger to his lips as the rest of the room joined him in watching Loki work. His hands were now blurs on the screens and they worked as if he had designed the system himself. Several moments later he stopped and turned around and walked back to Thor's side. The smile that was in place was one where he knew he had done well. Samantha was rather fond of this smile even though it did slightly annoy her at times._

"_The two missiles collided with one another." Hill told the room while staring at her screen. "Someone overload their tracking system."_

_The room now turned around to look at Loki whose gaze floated around the room as if he hadn't just saved the lives of everyone on board. His eyes rested though on the gun Gareth still had pointing at him._

"_If I had known that saving your lives would result in a gun still pointing at me I wouldn't have bothered." Loki remarked._

"_Human put your gun down it will do no harm to either of us anyway." Thor told Gareth. Thor stood smiling broadly at the actions his brother had just taken. Gareth's gun did not waver._

"_This man is a wanted criminal." Gareth spat. "For all we know he could be working with the people who kidnapped Samantha." Loki's eyes burned with pure hatred._

"_Be wise what you say Green. No one in the nine realms cares for Samantha as much as Loki." Thor warned. "To even suggest that he is involved in her torture is a serious insult and will not be taken lightly."_

"_Green put the gun down." Fury ordered. Slowly and reluctantly the gun retracted to his side._

"_Gareth Green what an unfortunate name." Loki remarked. Gareth was close enough to punch him straight across the jaw. Because of Loki lacking most of his powers the hit actually resulted in a split lip that before would not have even swayed the prince. Loki went to lunge but Thor held him back while Rogers intervened holding Gareth back. Fury stepped between the two._

"_I may not trust Loki Gareth but he is the best option we have if we want to track down Jennings." Fury addressed the agent then he turned his attention to Loki. "And for you God of Mischief you step one place out of line and I will personally kick your ass. I'm guessing the lack of magic you have makes it easier to hurt you." Fury said motioning to the split lip. _

_Both men straightened up. _

"_Now I'm probably going to regret this but Green you will be working with Loki here on tracking Samantha down." Fury said._

"_You can't be serious?" Stark asked. He had surprisingly kept quiet but he didn't like this turn of events._

"_Deadly." Fury said. "Obviously you won't be alone, Agent Romanoff and Barton and Thor will be supervising but you two are the best chances we have at tracking Jennings down and with her our mysterious partner. Secondly Banner and Stark I want you looking into this mind control machine. Maybe Loki here can give you a few tips on how it works since he perfected it last time he was here."_

_Loki shot a deadly look Fury's way but the director choose to ignore it. "Now get the hell out of my control room."_

_The group left and Thor walked by Loki's side. Loki turned to Gareth as he passed though._

"_Can't wait to work with you partner. I can tell you all about life on Asgard with Samantha." Loki hissed so quietly that only Gareth heard it and Samantha saw it took all his restraint not to hit Loki again. Loki walked away with a smirk on his face lording the power he had over Gareth. He already knew how to push all his buttons while Gareth remained unaware Loki had any._

_Samantha used this information to try and concentrate her mind on the hellicarrier. There she could almost forget the immense pain and torture that her body was being put through. _

_Almost._


	10. Sweet Dreams

Samantha lay staring at the wall above her memorising each little crack and crumbling piece of paint that she could see. There were only a few but it helped concentrate her mind.

She closed her eyes sighing enjoying the break between the knives as they went to run tests and allowed her to heal. She hated feeling helpless and vulnerable. Ever since learning about who she was she hadn't felt those things, she had become strong and undefeatable. The arrogance of her ways now mocked her. It made the fall that much worse.

Samantha heard the murmur of voices outside her door. She kept her eyes closed as she heard the door open and 2 people entered the room. One was a woman as Samantha could hear the sound of her heels echoing while the other was a man who had a deep rumbling voice. Both were new and Samantha immediately knew that these were behind everything. These were the two pulling the strings.

"How are the results going?" The man said. She could feel his breathe on her skin as he leaned over her face. It took all her will power to remain impassive and appear asleep. She tried to project herself so that she could watch what was happening around her and see what the two looked like but the energy escaped her.

"There are signs of progress." The woman said. Her voice was cold and calculating.

"But..." The man's voice on the other hand was warm and soft.

"I don't think we should be wasting our time and resources on Stein's crazy ideas." She said. She had obviously had had this on her chest for a while and she did not believe that 'Stein', who Samantha assumed was the man in the suit, was worthy of their efforts and resources.

"Patience is all we require. Once Stein has done his job you know the plan until then we let him play with his little toy." She could not tell whether he was referring to herself or to the mind control button Stein was so fond of.

Another voice entered the room and Samantha almost gave herself away by gasping out loud.

"They will be close to finding her soon we should move her along. I have had heard word that Prince Loki has joined in their efforts. He is not someone we can trick for long." The voice of her attacker back on Asgard told the two others in the room. Samantha's mind was too clouded to find any understanding as to why he might be there.

"I think we may not need Stein anymore then if that's the case." The other man muttered. His voice was delicate but rattled with authority. This was the man in charge.

"But you just said..." The woman began confused but was cut off.

"Prince Loki is exactly what we need." The man said. "There is nothing more powerful than the emotion of love. We may not need Stein's little machine after all. Prepare to move her in the hour." A phone beeped and she heard the woman rush outside the room and was followed by the Aesir close to the door. The man in charge stayed behind though. "Miss Jennings I am a fan of the arts, so believe me when I say your acting skills are weak. I know you are not asleep dear child but do not worry I will not punish you."

She felt his hand sweep back some of the hair plastered to her face from the sweat after countless hours of testing. She flinched away and opened her eyes but they were quickly covered by the man with his hand.

"No you get to see my face later." He said. "I am truly sorry the pain you have been put through but we just needed to keep Stein entertained until we got what we needed. Don't worry the plans we have for you are much more pleasant and ones I'm sure you will be eager to go along with. Sweet dreams Samantha."

Samantha felt her eyes slowly begin to close and when they next opened she stood in a SHIELD lab.

_In the lab was just Gareth, Loki and Thor. Thor was idly playing with his hammer while Loki and Gareth worked tirelessly at computer screens._

"_Are you sure you crossed checked all of Jeffeson's hideouts with—" Loki began but Gareth cut him off._

"_Yes I've checked every possibility that could be if Jeffeson is involved somehow." Gareth replied frustrated._

"_What film did you see?" Loki asked. Both Thor and Gareth turned to look at him at with his dramatic change of subject._

"_What?" Gareth asked._

"_When you skipped training and went out for your birthday." Loki explained._

"_A thriller, I can't remember. Samantha kept spoiling the plot and coming up with a much better one. In the end I couldn't tell which story was the movie's and which one was Samantha's." A smile came to Gareth's lips as he thought of the memory. He lips quickly returned to a harsh line when he remembered who had asked. "Why do you care?"_

"_I was curious that is all." No what Loki was doing was letting Gareth know that Samantha had talked about him with Loki. She knew now that Gareth was going to worry about what she had said and she could already see his frown. Loki on the other hand had a smirk playing on the tips of his lips. Thor remained oblivious and carried on playing with his hammer._

_Then something crossed Samantha's mind. It was risky but if she managed it, the benefits outweighed the costs. She concentrated with all her strength and she knew her efforts were not wasted as sparks flew and the computer screen was projected and brought to life._

"_What are you doing?" Gareth asked Loki, his gun already out ready to shoot._

"_This is not my work." Loki said. Thor had stood up and crossed to the projected screen. It was a map zooming in on a place. Samantha felt her concentration start to slip and her last ounces of energy used up but she had to try. She focused on bringing the computer to her._

"_Hey did your computers go haywire as well?" Stark asked as he popped his head around the corner. His eyes bulged when he saw the image on the screen. "Why are you zooming in on one of my labs?"_

_Samantha ignored the comment and stored it for later as she tried to use the extra energy from the computers to help her. She knew she was draining their power which is why Stark had come into the room but she kept going._

"_Samantha?" Gareth said staring straight at her. She realised that she had absorbed so much power that she was fully projecting an image of herself for all to see. All eyes in the room wandered across her body as they took in the scars and injuries of the experiments. She tried to keep focused but she couldn't ignore the growing looks of horror on their faces._

"_Hurry." Was all she managed to say before blacking out with exhaustion as the computer image showed the outside of the building Samantha was positive was where she was being held captive._


	11. Imagine That

Samantha opened her eyes and looked around. This was not the same place as last time. The walls were less bright, less clean, less...everything.

She sat up slowly aware of the headache and the stiffness in her body. The slightest movement took all the energy she possessed. She didn't know how long she had been asleep for; she didn't know how long she had been held prisoner for. All she knew is that she had been moved. SHIELD was too late in saving her.

She felt a lump appear in the back of her throat and the painful stinging sensation of fighting back tears. Samantha wanted to cry until she could cry no more but she had to be strong. She took several deep breaths calming herself down so she could think on how to get out of here.

Samantha knew she couldn't pull the same stunt as last time, not without killing herself with the amount of energy she used up. The door opened though before she could think more and a young woman carrying some food came in. Samantha remained silent and looking at the floor.

The woman silently placed the food next to Samantha before retreating out of the room. With those few precious moments she had given Samantha everything she needed.

These people wanted to be clever. That's why they decided to use one of Stark's labs to test her in. They wanted to rub in SHIELD's face that they were better and more intelligent. This however would be their downfall. She also took note that she hadn't been drugged in a while because her thoughts became slightly clearer and she was able to link them together.

As the woman had entered Samantha had smelt the horilka off her clothes. Then when placing the food down she saw the stains of stewed fruit on her fingers not to mention the small pieces of chicken at the corner of her mouth. Samantha knew she was in the Ukraine. But where about was a different matter.

So she knew so far that these people like to think themselves better than others-

Of course, Samantha knew exactly where she was but getting the message to SHIELD was a completely different problem.

Samantha sighed knowing that trying to contact Loki again was pointless as she didn't have the energy. Try as she might nothing came to mind on how she could tell SHIELD where her current location was.

Samantha turned to the food laid beside her and she felt almost sick. It was a lump of sludge that Stein had formulated that gave her all the nutrients she needed without all the nice taste. She pushed it to the floor then curled up onto the bed.

She now understood that the clue the informant gave SHIELD was a set up. They wanted them to find out the connection with Hughes to get Samantha involved. Yes Stein had been working on the mind control deceive but Samantha was the real prize, they wanted an unstoppable army.

Well Stein did but Samantha didn't have a clue what the other mysterious strangers wanted. It scared her that the man from Asgard was involved and she still didn't understand how he was either. Samantha did not like not knowing things but recently a list just seemed to be growing and growing of what she did not know.

Samantha closed her eyes and found her mind in the previous experimenting room.

_Loki burst through the door eyes wide searching for her. He was quickly joined by the rest of the Avengers, minus Barton._

"_The place is clear. They've gone, no trace what so ever." Gareth said putting his gun back in its holder as he walked into the room. "They knew we were coming." He kicks the door almost breaking it off its hinges._

"_Sons of a bitches using my labs." Stark said shaking his head angrily. "We closed this place down once we got out of the weapon business. I thought it had been sold though."_

"_It had." Natasha said. "Brought by an unknown account and before you say anything Green we've already tried tracing it. No such luck."_

_Loki still remained silent. With each passing moment Samantha could see the anger building inside of him, he had just missed her and Loki was not pleased. Loki liked to have the upper hand but right now the group were playing a wild goose chase._

"_Guys you might want to come see this." Barton told the group through their ear pieces. Nearly everyone left par Loki and Thor. Loki looked up and stared straight where Samantha was standing. She felt her heart stop. No matter what the circumstances he always took her breath away._

"_Brother we will find her." Thor said to Loki._

"_I am not your brother." Loki hissed but every time he said this Samantha could feel his resistance waning. The silver tongue prince was silent for a few moments before he lashed out and punched a hole in the wall. Both Thor and Samantha took a step back shocked by Loki's actions. He never lashed out physical and would store his anger and hate until he was calm and had a plan. To instinctively punch a wall was more Thor, not Loki. _

"_She was here. She was here and we missed her!" Loki yelled. _

"_Loki calm down. You think best when calm and collected not when you are acting like...like...like me." Thor tried to tell him._

"_You do not understand."Loki said. His voice was now barely louder than a whisper. "Imagine it was that mortal woman you are so fond of. Imagine you could feel her pain like I feel Samantha's. Imagine you could feel them so close and you knew that one more step would stop that pain and protect them from the world. But when you took that step they were snatched from your grasp." Samantha had to fight to hold back tears. "Now imagine that and magnify as large as your little mind can grasp. Maybe then dear brother" Loki sneered and emphasised the word brother to add extra anger to his words. "Maybe then you will have an inkling of how I feel. But you will never understand."_

"_Loki we will find her if it is the last thing I do." Thor instinctively reached out to touch his brother and only after a moment did he realise what he had done. Loki too was stunned. Samantha could see he was glad of Thor's comforting but then remembered all that had unfolded the past couple of years. He jerked out of Thor's arm around his shoulder and stormed out of the room. Thor sighed and followed._

"Ah good, are we connected?" Stein said rather loudly. She opened her eyes to meet a cloth like substance covering her head. Her hands were tied behind her back in a chair. The mustiness of the bag over her head caused her breaths to become shorter as her mind whirled thinking as to where she might be. "Can you hear me? Good. Well I guess the cat's out of the bag. I'm Dr David Stein and you lot have caused me a lot of distress It's not easy to move an entire work force in under an hour but I'm just amazing that way."

Samantha couldn't tell what was going on only that she had been given another dose of the drug and she could only hang her head.

"Anyway check you lot finding my lab it deserves a gold star." Samantha's stomach grew tighter as she now had a pretty good idea who Stein was talking too. "But I don't give out gold stars. Isn't that right Samantha?" Samantha could feel his face inches from hers. She wanted nothing more than to head butt him but the lack of thinking straight meant she couldn't tell where he was.

The bag was ripped violently off her head and she breathed in a deep breath of the cleaner air. The lights surrounding her caused her to squint and intensified her head ache. When she looked up though there was no mistaking what was projected on to the screen.

The Avengers.

"No, our treat to you is a show. Have any of you seen that film kick-ass? No well you might want to so you know what's going to happen next." Stein continued.

Samantha's eyes caught on to Loki's as he could do nothing but watch.


	12. Hope

**Vex here**

**Just wanted to say thank you for all the reviews. Each one puts a smile on my face. I'm sorry about the cliff hangers but it's my way of keeping you coming back for more.**

**I wasn't planning to upload anymore today but I think for the sake of 'AJ is Loki is Loki's wife's' refresh button I will do so. And I also plan to upload another chapter later today as well but much later not in a gap of a couple of hours like this one.**

**Also quick note I plan to do two one shots after this story but on what subject I'll let you think about and you'll just have to wait until then. I may be planning another story out of these characters on top of the one shots but I think I should finish this one first. Not even half way through yet **

**Anyway thanks again for all the reviews and just generally liking my story even if you don't review.**

**Right I'll stop my rambling and let you see what happens to Samantha, don't hate me too much.**

Samantha spat more blood than she ever thought possible, she even swore she saw part of a tooth fly out at one point. With each passing punch, kick and cut she could see each person on the screen intensify their emotions. Most were anger with shock thrown in; the one face that stood out to Samantha though was the one she didn't want to see.

Loki's face was a mask of fury that magnified each time a blow was dealt however Samantha could see the pain in his eyes. She could see his concern for her and it made everything that much worse. At this point Samantha had managed to numb most of her mind but that still didn't mean she didn't feel the pain. Each blow made her want to scream out and a couple times she did.

"Well Avengers did you like your reward?" Stein asks. Samantha knew it was over for now. She had come out with 2 broken ribs, bruises covering most of her body with cuts ranging from huge to minuscule with a newly blackened eye. She squinted up to the screen with the one good one, the other too swollen to see out of.

"What about you Samantha did you enjoy it?" Stein turned to her. This was Samantha's chance she just hoped Natasha was listening.

"This reminds me of a time in Tokyo." Samantha said. She could hear the slurring of her words as she looked directly at the black widow. Her tongue seemed too large for her mouth and her lips numb but she had to try. "Do you remember that Natasha? I had a little help from you."

Samantha couldn't tell if the spy had understood the hidden meaning or not as like the true spy she was, her face remained impassive.

"Oh seems the pain has gone to her poor head." Stein said as if talking to a baby. He grabbed her cheeks and squished them together. His hands were firm and unrelenting, another bruise to add to the growing list of many.

"Get your hands off her." Loki whispered. His voice carried though and the threat was easily distinguished in his words. Stein was taken a back and let go of Samantha's face. With nothing supporting it, it rolled back to resting on her chest but she conjured all the energy she could to look up with her one good eye.

"Ah this must be Loki, the god who destroyed New York City."

"Half actually." Loki said now sending looks that could murder, Stein's way. There was no mischief in his eyes but pure fire and hatred for this one man.

"Still a feet worth applause." Stein clapped his hands slowly. "I don't see why we don't work together. You and I with an army of soldiers that with one thought could kill someone." No, Samantha thought, she couldn't kill someone just by thinking it, could she? "Surely that is worth the great God of Mischief's time."

"Samantha listen to me." Loki now addressed her ignoring the blabbering man in the suit. "I don't want you to try that stunt again. I felt you nearly die which is unacceptable."

"Urm what little stunt can I be so bold to ask seeing as...this is my hostage!" Stein screamed the last part of the sentence but yet again he was ignored by the Avengers.

"Hang in there kiddo we'll be there soon." Stark said next.

"Jennings just hold on, Stark's right for once." Rogers assured her next.

"Since when did this turn into everyone re assure the captive? Excuse me, it's my computer line." Stein raged again.

"Shut up human." Thor commanded.

"Sam" Gareth looked at her and she looked at him. "You'll be back where you belong before your birthday next week." He gave her a sad smile. Samantha realised only now how long she must have been kidnapped. When the original mission happened and she was first taken prisoner her birthday had been 3 months away. She tried not to gasp out loud at the shock of how long her torment had been going on for.

"And this must be the famous Gareth Green!" Stein said. "Aw he has a little crush, isn't that cute? Well let's see if you feel the same way when her face isn't so pretty" Before anyone registered what was happening, Stein grabbed Samantha's head, pulled out a pocket knife and sliced a deep cut starting at the corner of Samantha's left eye travelling all the way down to her chin. She screamed out in pain as the blood began to poor. This would scar and she knew it.

She didn't care about the scaring though, all she cared about was trying to stop the burning. The air made her skin burn on contact and the cool rush of blood did nothing to stop it, in fact it only inflamed the burning sensation and Samantha could feel tears come to her eyes. This cut would never fade not just on her face but on her mind as well.

As the blood poured out she felt her resistance leaving too. She had hoped that she could one day put this torture behind her but with that simple cut Stein had changed everything. Now every time she looked in the mirror or saw herself in something, she would see the scar that reminded her of this. Of all the pain and suffering. Some would call it a battle scar but Samantha was not proud of it. It was her stupidity that lead her here and the only reason for their interest in her was because she was a reincarnation of a god. There was nothing special about Samantha Jennings.

That was why Stein couldn't find the secret to her DNA, because it didn't have any. The only reason she could do what she does is because she shared the same soul as Speki. It wasn't written into her genetic code and no matter how deep Stein dug he would never find his ingredient only the inside of a scared little girl.

"Now Loki about doubling up-" Stein began but was cut off.

"You mortal will never be worth my time." Loki spat at him. "I would take your chance now and try and get a head start but how ever far you go, I will find you." This was no ideal threat and a fire was blazing behind Loki's eyes. "No matter how far you travel; how good you hide and how much you think you are superior. You are worth nothing more and are nothing more than the dirt on my feet. I will find you and I will destroy you. I am Prince Loki of Asgard and you mere mortal are already dead."

Stein cut the camera off before Loki could say anymore but Samantha could see the fear in his eyes. That was no ideal threat Loki had just committed, that was a death warrant and Loki was the judge, jury and executioner.

The bag was placed over Samantha's head once again as she was moved to yet another room. It clung to the blood still pouring from her cut as well as the sweat that plastered her head.

Once in the room Samantha began to cry. She curled into a ball and just cried. There was nothing more she could do but accept her fate. She hoped Natasha got her message but Samantha tried not to get her hopes up. Instead she continued to quietly sob until she fell into another dream filled sleep.


	13. Dancing

**Dear Reader**

**Thank you for reading and thank you for all the reviews. Quick hint, pay close attention to elements of this chapter. All will be revealed in time but this gives you clues for the future : )**

**Sorry guys last chapter for today and the next one will be late tomorrow just because I'm out all day but I will post tomorrow, I promise!**

**Anyway enjoy**

**Vex**

"_I guess this evening didn't work out for either of us." Samantha said. But she knew immediately that it was not her but Speki. She had not had many of Speki's memories surface recently so she welcomed the scene just to see Loki again. Who coincidently was sat right next to her. The air seemed to crackle with electricity at the closeness of the two._

_They sat on a bench in the middle of the palace gardens looking at a fountain. Samantha could tell if in human years she would be 17 maybe 18 years old but it was hard to tell when comparing to Asgard. She could be 60 years on Earth but only 2 on the realm eternal. She did know that she and Loki were friends in this memory. Dear friends but nothing more. Samantha could feel though that she was battling eternally on whether she wanted there to be more._

"_It did not." Loki said. Samantha looked down to see she was wearing a dress. Rare for both her and Speki. Loki himself was in his best robes. She heard the faint whispers of the music flowing from the palace and deduced that they both must have escaped from a banquet._

_The two remained silent for a moment just watching the water flow in the elegant fountain. Loki soon got bored and began to manipulate the water as if a stone was skipping across the surface._

"_Anyone on Asgard who is someone is in that hall yet we both escaped. Does it not show how different we are?" She murmured but Loki heard every word._

"_Different can be good." He told her. Both sets of eyes were still transfixed on the water Loki was playing with. "As long as you have someone to appreciate it."_

"_Shame I have 6 brothers then and no mother to appreciate me." Her head tilted towards the side Loki sat but only to see viewing the water in a different light. _

"_I appreciate your uniqueness." Loki said to her. She turned her face to his and he turned his to hers. He no longer played with the water but focused on her. _

"_As I appreciate yours." She told him. They both smirked at each other before the both let out a slight laugh._

"_Oh poor Fandal and Sigyn left by their partners. They must be so lonely without us." She commented._

"_If I saw right I believe they found comfort in one another." Loki said smirking. Neither one of them seemed upset that their escorts for the evening had found someone else to partner with. Then Loki suddenly stood up and offered her his hand. "Lady Speki it would be an honour to have this dance with you."_

"_Why yes my good prince and it would be an honour to dance with you." They both smiled at each other, laughing at their tones. Loki's top hand entwined with hers while the other found her waist. Her other hand found his shoulder and the two began to move with such grace and co-ordination that it would appear they were meant to dance together._

"_I was hoping you would ask me" She told the Prince several minutes later after enjoyable dancing. _

"_I was going to." Loki admitted. "But then you agreed to Fandral and it was not my place to steal you away. Though I could easily have done so."_

"_That was what you were nervous about the other day in the gardens." She nodded her head but inside Samantha didn't understand the reference. Another memory for another time. "Why be nervous with a silver tongue? Especially if you could steal me away so easily."_

"_I am known for lying Speki, which means I can fool people to believe I am something I am not." He stated for her. _

"_For example being nervous. Is that something you can convince people of?" She asked with a smile playing on her lips._

"_Yes." He told her bluntly but she could see the smile hinting at the corner of his mouth. "I particularly use nervousness around you so your guard falls and I can bend you to my will."_

"_Well even if you could bend me to your will I believe father asked Fandal to ask me anyway. You know I will not go against my father's wishes"_

"_What makes you say that?"_

"_When has Fandal ever seen me as someone to court? He is scared of me and quite frankly relived when I said I was going to the gardens." She told him. "I may have also been practicing the projection spell you taught me and appeared in the room when my father told him to. I believe my father finds him a suitable suitor for me."_

"_I couldn't disagree more." Loki's lips became tight and his eyes lost their playfulness slightly. She liked when she evoked this reaction in him. It showed signs of hope for her that he may return her feelings. What her feelings were at that moment in time though she was not sure. _

"_It's all my father seems to focus on these days. Finding me a husband. It is because I am the youngest and the rest are all married off. It is only because I am his little girl that he panics that if he does not find the right man, then I will obviously live life out as virgin forever alone." She over played the amateur dramatics. Loki spun her again as they continued to dance. "Though sometimes I believe his doesn't mind the alternative."_

"_Why has your father never seen me as a potential lover?" Loki asked curiosity filling his eyes and voice._

"_You are Prince Loki, you shall chose your maiden not the other way around." She told him. "Though the amount of women on Asgard that needs that advice where Thor is concerned is quite alarming."_

"_But does he not think you and I will be suited together?"_

"_I do not know." She told him truthfully. "He may have had his hopes in the past but I squashed them when it was interfering with our friendship. Though I thought you would have realised now why he encouraged me to spend so much time with Thor and yourself. In the hope one of you would chose me. I think he sees now that we are merely friends."_

"_Oh I think we are a little more than that." Loki whispered into her ear. A shiver ran up her spine. He twirled her one last time before holding her low to the ground. His eyes shone with mischief as he bent low to her lips. "Don't you?"_

_His lips were mere millimetres from hers but before she could react Loki let go of her. The water engulfed her and he dropped her into the fountain. She could feel the rarely worn make up run and the dress cling to her body. She sat up eyes blazing at Loki._

"_Sorry I lost my grip." He smirked at her. She focused her mind and flung Loki into the fountain with her. He spluttered water as he too resurfaced. She did not release how deep the fountain was._

"_Sorry I lost my temper." She smirked at him. They both sat in the fountain for a minute longer in silence before they both burst into laughter. _

_She splashed him with water with her hand and he began to splash back. Soon her shrieks mixed with both their laughter as they played in the fountain. Loki dived on top of her and they rolled in the water both with smiles on their faces. _

_They both sat back up and they were sitting with their arms touching._

"_Well I think this dress is ruined." She said._

_Loki just smirked. A piece of hair fell across her face which Loki reached out and swept it behind her ear but his hand lingered. She leaned into his hand but remained looking at him. A new emotion crossed the prince's eyes and she knew her eyes contained the same emotion as well._

_Smirks left both their faces as Loki leaned down slowly and gently, afraid that she would reject him. He stopped centimetres from her lips when someone calling Loki's name could be heard._

_The moment broke as both persons turned their head in the direction of the voice. Loki took his hand from her face as well which she instantly missed. Sigyn entered the clearing. She could tell she was not a big fan of Sigyn and Samantha could see why. She wore heavy makeup and this would seem a daily appearance. Her dress was low cut and she only looked at Loki not even acknowledging her presence._

"_Ah there you are." She said with a fake smile "What have you been up to?"_

"_Dancing." Loki told her. Both Loki and she tried to hide their smirks. _

"_I thought dancing was just between partners?" She asked with a small smile. It was not a nice smile though._

"_It is and while you were partnering with Fandal I partnered with Lady Speki here." He stood up and climbed out the fountain. Then turned and offered his hand to help her out of the water. He sent a small smirk and a wink her way before turning around to Sigyn. "Forgive me Sigyn but I must return to my chambers to change into more suitable attire, preferably dry. I will return to the hall after and dance with you all night long."_

"_I will be waiting." She smiled a seductive smile at Loki then left them alone once more._

"_Hurry my prince before the fair maiden becomes lonely once more." Her voice dripped with sarcasm, something Samantha didn't release people on Asgard understood._

"_The only fair maiden tonight is you." He told her. He placed a kiss on her hand before leaving her to get changed._

_The scene changed and Samantha expected it to be the land of the frost giants. Instead it was the SHIELD control room as the group gathered after searching the Stark labs._

_Samantha looked at Loki and saw how much he had changed from the memory. He had grown and lost that childhood mischief he had about him. It saddened Samantha she never saw it in person._

"_I know where she is." Natasha said as she entered the room. This caught everyone's attention._

_Especially Loki's._


	14. Presents

**A/N: Thanks I love marvel films, changed the mistake now. Anyway enjoy : )**

Samantha screamed aloud when a burning hot needle was thrust into her skin with little sympathy. Someone was stitching the cut on her face but carelessly. She tried to push them off but it only resulted in another injection and her eyes began to close once more.

"_Loki I know you're here." She said. Samantha recognised the dream as her own memory from when she had resided on Asgard. She became annoyed at the memory though. She wanted to travel back to the control room and see what was unfolding. Instead her mind had chosen the moment to relive something she already knew the outcome of. Though because of what the outcome was she was willing to relive that period in time again._

"_The question I have is why you are here?" The silver tongue Prince's silky smooth voice said behind her. He stepped out behind her chair she was sat in, in the palace library._

"_I have never been one for dancing." She told him as she snapped the book shut. _

"_But it is your ball." He told her. He was dressed in his full ceremonial armour and it took her breath away. She on the other hand was in a dark navy blue dress that fell to the ground. She stood up and stumbled slightly but Loki caught her. Her eyes widened in surprise in the realisation that this was no projection. "I am Odin's present to you. I will be used by him this once just so I can be with you."_

"_But-" Samantha couldn't grasp her words. The ball was to celebrate the one year anniversary of her residing on Asgard and coincidently Speki's birthday. It had taken place a month before the events which led her back to Earth. "You are not allowed to be freed, you are not ready."_

"_He has taken away my magic so I can do no harm." She could tell Loki did not like this arrangement. Samantha stepped back from him but stumbled for him to catch her once more. "Too much of the wine have we?"_

"_No stupid high heels." Samantha reached under her dress and flung the annoying shoes to the floor. Never would she wear the death feet again. She turned her attention back to Loki. "I assume this arrangement is for tonight only."_

"_Unfortunately." Loki said. "So we must make the most of it."_

_Loki grabbed Samantha's hand despite her protests and began to dance with her in the library._

"_For one not for dancing you certainly posses the ability." Loki whispered in her ear which sent shivers down her spine._

"_No I posses the ability to let you lead me while I copy. I'm a useless dancer." She corrected him._

"_Well even if you are not comfortable dancing, should you not be present at the feast? I know Thor grows worried of your absence though the rest of Asgard does not seem to notice it."_

"_Another reason I do not like to dance, I'm not exactly fond of parties." She told him and whispered in his ear. If she didn't know better she thought she felt him shiver under her breath. "I'm guessing you noticed the lack of interaction I had with people on Earth. I only spoke with a few people preferring my own company to others."_

"_Yet you do not mind me." Loki said with a mischievous smirk on his face._

"_You are an exception." She told him with a smirk on her own lips._

"_I am honoured." Loki said. "To be dancing with the most beautiful women in the nine realms is what others can only dream of." Samantha felt herself blush at his compliment. "I love it when you blush."_

"_I know you always try and make me." Samantha remarked smirking. She decided to change the topic but it didn't go to plan. "I think the last party I went to was when I was 16 and there—" She stopped talking as the unpleasant memory began to resurface. She stepped away from him pulling out of the dance._

"_There what?" Loki asked stepping towards her again and reaching for her hand which he took in his. His eyes were full of concern. _

"_There was this boy who liked me." Loki's eyes flashed with jealously but she ignored it. "So he spiked my drink with something then took me to this room." Samantha remembered feeling the blush fall across her cheek. "Nothing happened that I am sure but he claim something did."_

_She paused looking at the anger in Loki's hardened eyes._

"_I didn't care though I knew the truth and that's what mattered." She even added a small smile on the end to try and reassure Loki who had been frozen for several moments._

_Then he stepped towards her and smashed his lips onto hers. She didn't react for a moment in shock but soon gave back to him all the passion he was giving her. She grabbed the front of his robes pulling him closer while his hands held her face to his. They were both hungry for each other after so long being apart._

_Samantha broke first and was gasping for air. She missed this and she missed the feel of his lips against her lips. He rested his forehead on hers._

"_I have missed you." Loki whispered a few minutes later._

"_I have always been here." She told him with a smirk on her lips._

"_I am glad you did not sleep with that mortal. I don't like sharing things." He said._

"_I am not a thing." She told him pulling away. Anger filled her veins slightly. "I'm sure all the Asgard women you've bedded love when you called them yours but that won't work on me."_

"_I have only made one mine." He said truth filling his eyes. She knew who he meant straight away. "You though are still to make that step."_

"_I-" Samantha could think of no words as her cheeks were burning red. She cringed inside at where the conversation had led. "Maybe...but I don't see..." Loki just raised his eyebrow at her. "Okay yes I'm still a virgin big deal."_

_Loki stepped towards her and kissed her again but this time gently but his kissed soon travelled to her throat._

"_Then let this be my gift to you." He whispered against her neck a smirk playing on his lips as if he remembered something. She knew what he meant and she also knew that she was ready. _

_The next morning she awoke in her bed not surprised that Loki was no longer there. She sighed rolling over to where he slept inhaling his scent off her pillows. Last night had been one of the best of her life. However she also knew Loki had officially made her his as he was her first which is something you never forget. She was surprised though when she realised that she didn't actually mind. _

_She sat up and stretched grateful she had not awoken screaming putting it down to something Loki had done. She saw her dress lying on the floor which she mentally picked up and placed for the maids to collect later to wash. She also noticed the note and box on her bedside table._

_**I am sorry I could not be there when you woke up but be assured last night was one of the best in my existence. Though you may argue against it, you are now mine Samantha Jennings as I am yours.**_

_**Love forever**_

_**Your Silver Tongue Prince.**_

_**P.S An additional present awaits you in the box.**_

_Samantha held her smirk at how he had signed the note. She was relieved no one else was in the room as the blush on her face was most unflattering. She moved to the box and inside was a bracelet of two snakes entwined with each other both having emerald eyes._

"Aw good the next round can begin. I believe if we focus on the bone marrow this time, seems we are getting a lot of positive signs from there." Stein said leaning over her. Her eyes opened slightly. She caught glimpse of the giant needle that was thrust into her arm before she blacked out again.

_This time she was aboard a quinjet SHIELD used for scout missions. The Avengers were on board as well as Gareth and Loki and minus Bruce._

"_Please explain to me again how you worked out Samantha was here Natasha?" Stark asked._

"_When Samantha took a year out of SHIELD travelling she came across a case in Tokyo." The Russian spy said with a roll of the eye, obviously repeating this for yet another time. "There Samantha had taken down this crime family using some techniques that I used in another case. When we first met we discussed this."_

"_Yeah I remember a Woods case I think?" Rogers butted in._

"_Forest. It was my first assignment for SHIELD. This group were dealing in gamma radiation supply for this terrorist group to trying to create their own miniature Hulks." The spy carried on. "Anyway Samantha said in the video that it reminded her of Tokyo but not actually Tokyo so therefore the Ukraine where the first investigation took place."_

"_Are we positive—" Stark began but Loki cut him off._

"_She is here. I can feel her nearby." Loki said. The concentration on his face caused silence to fall._

"_2 minutes." Barton called from the front._

"Sir we have an unidentified aircraft heading this way." A small man said popping his head around the door. Stein froze for a moment before turning to her.

"What have you done?" He asked. He pushed her off the table slamming her into the wall. Despite the pain Samantha could feel herself smirking. "Stop that you stupid girl." He slapped her across the face and he went to go again but she blocked him and kicked him away, grateful it had been awhile since her last injection. She saw Stein reach for another needle to subdue her but was knocked over by a blast somewhere else in the building.

The Avengers had arrived.


	15. Murderer

Samantha opened her eyes to a cloud of dust and rubble. She coughed pulling herself off the floor. Stein was still on the floor knocked out with the rest of his goons but Samantha could hear the battle raging outside.

She tried to stand up but collapsed on the floor again. She needed to move and find someone before they take her away. Though it wasn't the most dignified means of travel, she began to crawl towards the door. She may have been slow but she was moving nonetheless.

She felt someone grab her ankle and she turned around she see a deranged doctor holding on to it as if for dear life. She sent a kick in his nose that at full strength would had knocked him back a few feet but instead she just gave him a broken nose. Samantha used the adrenaline from the attack to help her stand up and stumble out of the room.

She collided with the opposite wall and walked along it to help support herself. She could feel the drug beginning to wear off but her legs were unused and that much of her 'medicine' she had taken in the past few months had caused more than just one side effect. She felt nausea sweep through her but she had to carry on and find someone from SHIELD. However when she reached the end of the corridor she did throw up but it did not bring relief from her nausea, only multiplying it. Samantha carried on along the corridor wiping the sick from her mouth and ignoring the foul taste on her tongue.

She turned a corner and another and was starting to lose hope when she saw a flash of green at the other end of the hall way. Samantha thought she imagined it but when she focused she saw Loki taking on 4 guards. She tried to call out to him but her tongue was heavy in her mouth. Instead she carried on making her way down the end of the corridor when she saw a guard come behind him and was about to strike. Samantha knew without his usual powers that Loki was vulnerable and with a surge of energy from protecting Loki she thrust her hand forward. With it a thought that caused each guard Loki was battling to fall to the ground and into unconsciousness.

Loki whirled around to see Samantha fall to the floor with exhaustion. The energy she had channelled to walk left her with the power surge she just experienced. Loki's eyes became wide as he raced towards her but stopped several feet away. He looked at someone behind Samantha.

"That's it princess stay right there." She heard Stein say then someone was pulling her by her hair. She screamed and tried to claw away at the hands pulling her scalp from her skull. Hot tears began to fall but the man did not let go. Instead he held a gun to her head. "Now I don't think even being a god can heal a bullet to the head. Shall we find out?"

Samantha flung her arms and elbowed Stein in the shin. He let go of her hair and she began to crawl to Loki but Stein just grabbed her ankle and pulled her into a room. She heard the clicking of the locks as he trapped the two of them inside. Samantha scrambled towards the opposite wall knowing she could not fight this man.

He turned towards her. His suit no longer smart but dirty and torn. His hair fell across his face and his eyes full of malice. Samantha could hear Loki pounding his fists on the other side of the door and calling her name but he could not get in.

"I was planning to let you help rule my army but now I see that won't be necessary." He pulled a small black button from his pocket and a pocket knife. "If I can't harness your power then you shouldn't be allowed to." He pressed his button and Samantha felt herself stiffen. "I am going to open that door and when I do you will take this knife and stabbed yourself in the heart in front of your dear Loki."

Samantha's eyes grew wide with fear.

"Yes I know how Speki died and I only think it appropriate that you follow the same procedure." A sadistic smile crept onto his lips. He threw the knife towards her then grabbed hold of her face. "And I want you to look Loki in the eye as you do it!"

Samantha spat at the man in the suit which he backhanded her for. She lay on the floor not even attempting to stand up.

"Now for the show. Get up." Stein commanded of Samantha but she felt no urge to do so. Instead she remained on the floor. "I said GET UP!" The man roared down her ear. Still Samantha did not move.

"I think your batteries may have run out." She whispered. For once luck was on her side. Stein hit the button a few more times before deciding she was right.

"Oh well I'll just have to kill you myself." He said while picking her up by her hair once more and slamming her face into a wall. Her cheek, she could feel, was now fractured and blood filled her mouth where she had bit her tongue on impact.

Stein went to grab her again but Samantha rolled out of his reach. As she did so she brought her leg round that kicked Stein in the head. He stumbled back but both people in the room knew that Samantha was running out of strength. Stein lunged again and she tried to block it.

The two became interlocked as they rolled. When they stopped Stein was on top of her with a gun pushing into her forehead.

"What is that saying?" He asked bathing in the moment. "Oh yes, any last words?"

"Kiss my ass." She said then head butted the man. She could tell she had broken his nose however which nose she had broken she wasn't sure as there seem to be multiple ones swimming before her eyes. Head butting someone when she was still feeling dizzy from the drugs wasn't her best idea.

She heard him coming for her again and on instinct she picked up the pocket knife which had fallen from her grasp before the tussle and was lying on the floor. She turned at the exact moment Stein lunged and the knife went straight into his stomach.

Blood began to seep through his top and onto Samantha's hand but Stein was on an adrenaline high and continued to attack. Samantha stabbed him once more and again and again and again. She kept stabbing till he no longer moved. She looked down at the lifeless body before her and her blood stained hands still holding the knife. She dropped it instantly.

She should have stopped after two.

She had killed this man when there was no need to.

She was a murderer.

The door was blast from its hinges by a mighty hammer and Loki entered the room. He rushed forward and wrapped her in his arms and held her to his chest. His hand gently stroked her hair and his voice gave out calming sounds. He used his body to shield the lifeless body from her but Samantha's eyes did not move from the spot she was looking at only moments before.

Thor stepped through the threshold next alongside Gareth and Stark who all saw the dead body before turning to Samantha. She could no longer hold it in and she began to cry. She cried into Loki's chest not restraining herself. These were the tears where her eyes became puffy; her nose began to run; her breath was ragged and the sounds escaping her lips were sobs of pain. She didn't care though only one thought ran through her mind.

She, Samantha Jennings, was a murderer.


	16. Macbeth

"It's been two weeks now and she hasn't spoken a word. This is getting serious sir." Gareth pleaded to Fury. Samantha sat with her legs tucked under her chin and her arms wrapped around them. She was by the window in her room which each day she would sit by and just stare out of. Gareth, Fury, Thor and Stark were stood in her doorway watching her waiting for her to react.

"I agree with son of Green." Thor chimed in. The rest of the group used hushed tones as if they were on safari and Samantha was an animal. Thor on the other hand did not understand the concept of whispering so spoke normally. "She should return to Asgard there we have the best healers."

"I don't think inter-dimensional travel is the best thing for the kiddo right now." Stark said.

A bleeping sound went off.

"I'm needed in the control room, Stark finish working on that button thing and Green I need you with me. Thor do whatever the hell it is you do when you're not saving the world." Fury told them then she heard the three mentioned leave.

"Brother she will be alright." Thor said stepping further into the room. He was talking to Loki who was sat on the edge of her bed watching Samantha. He would not leave the room unless absolutely necessary. She would find every night that when she fell asleep at the window, he would carry her to her bed and be there when she woke up in the morning. He sometimes talked to her when they were alone but Samantha never joined in the conversations. Most times they were silent.

"I do not know." Loki's voice was quiet. "Her mind is blocking mine."

"Just give her time. You yourself have experienced the pain of torture." Thor reminded his brother.

"But I ate and I vented my anger in training." Loki told Thor. "She barley eats and has not picked up Fear since we returned. I can see her wasting away and there is nothing I can do about it."

"Maybe it is best if you return to Asgard, Samantha is—"

"Look at her!" Loki hissed. "She is not safe. I came to look after her well being and it is far from healthy. I will return to Asgard when she does."

"Maybe you should both—"

"And be locked away in a cell while Samantha slowly fades?" Loki asked his brother. "No we will stay here until she is well then Thor you can lock me away and throw away the key."

Samantha wanted to turn around and see their body language and where exactly in the room they were but she remained looking out at the dull grey sky not even bothering to find the energy to even attempt to look.

She stared to rub her hands like she did everyday imagining she saw the blood of Stein covering them once more. She was turning into Lady Macbeth and finding drops of blood when there weren't any.

Her rubbing soon became frantic as she began to claw at her skin and her own blood began to dot her hands. Loki rushed forward and placed his cool hands on hers. The little magic he had swept through his fingers and began to close the cuts she had created. Samantha's breathing returned to normal and once satisfied that her hands were mended Loki looked her in the eyes.

" Samantha." With that one word she could hear the hurt in Loki's voice and the worry. He placed a hand on her cheek. Samantha closed her eyes, instantly relaxing at his touch. His thumb gently stroked her cheek and her head leaned into his hand. When she opened her eyes she saw Loki's emerald eyes staring straight at her pleading for her to let him in. She couldn't though, not yet.

She turned away from Loki and put her back to the room. She caught the pain in Loki's eyes before she went back to staring out of the window.

"Brother I think it best if you also took a break." Thor said after a few moments silence.

"I will not leave her side." Loki said back.

"I will be here and you deserve rest." Thor tried to persuade him. "At least venture for something to eat for Samantha and yourself. The Midgard food is something you have not eaten in days"

"My magic can sustain me." Loki told Thor.

"But not for very much longer." Thor noticed. "You need to refuel, how much help will you be to Lady Samantha if you too can barely walk?"

"I'll be gone for five minutes and no more." Loki conceded after a few minutes of internal debate. He gently kissed Samantha on the forehead before leaving.

Thor remained standing but Samantha did not care.

They all thought it was the torture that had bent her mind but it wasn't. She, Samantha Jennings, was a murderer. It was self-defence up to a point, maybe 3 stabs to stop Stein but not the 10 she had inflicted. She had never killed a human before, Stein was her first. The others didn't see what her problem was though. Yes she had killed some of the alien invaders last year but they weren't human. Samantha didn't watch as the life slowly drained out of them and she hadn't enjoyed it like she had with Stein.

That was what sacred her most.

She had enjoyed the power of deciding who lives and who dies. She knew that she could easily kill someone and that power and knowledge was addictive. That is why she watched the sky fly by and shun humanity. Because she was afraid that if she interacted with society the temptation would be too great and she would kill again.

That was what she was, a murderer.

Loki returned exactly five minutes later with a tray with little food on it. He ate a sandwich and some fruit but soon became more focused on getting Samantha to eat.

"Samantha you need to eat." He placed a muffin in her hands which she glanced at then returned to her window. She did not deserve food but her stomach gave her away and grumbled loudly. "Don't make me force you." Loki threatened.

To satisfy him and her stomach she reached out and took a few small pieces from the muffin and placed them into her mouth. She swallowed quickly then pushed the food back into Loki's hands.

"Ah progress Loki that was more than the whole of yesterday." Thor said sounding cheerful.

"But still not enough." Loki sighed then reluctantly placed the muffin back.

A searing pain shot through Samantha's head with a voice that echoed.

_Soon Miss Jennings, soon._

Samantha clutched her head and screamed as she fell to the floor. Both Thor and Loki rushed forward.

"Samantha?" Both Thor and Loki started to ask her what happened. The pain past as quickly as it had come.

"Samantha open your eyes." She heard Loki demand. She felt his cool hands on her shoulders shaking her slightly. Her eyes flashed open and she grabbed Loki into a hug. She breathed in his scent and it helped calm her down. Loki's arms wrapped around her. One hand stroked her hair while the other rubbed her back. "It's okay you're safe." He whispered in her ear. She wished that was the case.

"We have a slight problem." Gareth said as he rushed back into the room. "The cube's gone."

Samantha felt Thor and Loki tense. She had known though as soon as she heard that voice. The voice of the man in charge.

He held all the cards and one of them was Samantha herself.


	17. Coulson

"Gone?" Thor asked.

"Yes gone as in not in your room anymore." Gareth explained.

"How do you know?" Thor asked.

"Because we have surveillance tapes. They crept on board when most of us were rescuing Samantha or in the control over seeing the rescue. These guys seem to always be a step ahead of us. You're all needed into the control room, emergency meeting in 5 minutes." Gareth told the group. Samantha didn't want to leave though. She wanted to crawl under her covers and forget the world.

"Fury has no control over me." Loki hissed at Gareth.

"No but he does have control of whether he puts you in a cell again." Gareth warned the god. Samantha could feel Loki tense even more under anger. She was still wrapped in his arms not wanting to let go. Gareth's voice turned softer. "Samantha you need to come as well."

"That I forbid." Loki said.

"Well it's not up to you." She heard Gareth walk over to her. "Sorry about this Sam but orders are orders." He bent down and tried to pick her up off the ground but Samantha kept her head buried into Loki's chest and arms securely around him.

"Get your hands off her." Loki warned Gareth as he still held onto Samantha.

"I think it best if you let Lady Samantha go." Thor chimed in with. Gareth did not relent though.

"Sam we need you." Gareth said trying to convince her.

"I said." She felt Loki stand up at which she did have to let go. However the silver tongue prince stepped in between her and Gareth. Her friend's hands left her side as the two men went head to head. "Get your hands off her."

"Samantha is needed at the meeting." Gareth's voice matched Loki's threatening tone and Samantha could see out of the corner of her eye the two standing toe to toe. Gareth wasn't as tall as Loki though so it was more eye to nose.

"Maybe both of you should—" Thor tried to intervene but was cut off by Loki.

"If you touch her again I will break your wrists in two." He threatened.

"Are you sure you can manage that without magic?" Gareth asked. She heard the rustle of movement as both men lunged for each other but Thor stepped in between them.

"Enough." Thor commanded. "Samantha shall remain while the three of us venture to this meeting."

"I will not leave—" Loki turned his hatred to Thor.

"You can and you will." Thor told his brother.

Samantha felt weird all of a sudden. Her hand went to her head as she pulled her overgrown hair out of her eyes. It was no longer residing just above her shoulders but closer to her elbows. She tried to shake her head as the strange sensation began to spread.

"Samantha?" Loki's voice was now right next to her and lost all the harshness used to address Gareth. "Samantha what ails you?"

She jumped up and ran to her en suite just in time to be sick into the toilet. Even though her stomach was empty she still wretched. She locked the door with her mind not wanting any of them to see this but that didn't stop them calling her name and banging on the door.

Samantha looked in the mirror and saw the black circles under her eyes and the paleness of her skin. She looked like she was knocking on death's doors. Her hair unruly and her black eye almost disappeared but still there. She healed quicker than the average human which meant she had almost fully recovered physically from the ordeal. However her eyes were drawn to the large scar running from her eye to her chin.

Once back on the SHIELD carrier they had re-stitched it. The stitches had come out a few days ago but the skin was still raw and red. Whenever a stranger looked at her their eyes were automatically drawn to the scar. She hated it and wished it would fade like the one on her cheek but it never would.

A bath.

That is what she needed a long soak to get rid of the dirt and grime and blood of others off her body. She crawled to the tub and turned the taps. Soon the water began to fall and she placed large amounts of bubbles in the water.

"What is that?" She heard Loki ask with a panicked voice.

"A bath. Don't you have them on the realm eternal?" Gareth asked with sarcasm dripping from his words. "She'll be fine. You two need to come to this meeting."

"Brother let her bathe." Thor told Loki. "She will be here when you get back. This is progress."

She heard two out of the three leave the room but she had a good idea who was left.

"Samantha I know you can hear me." Loki said to her. His voice wasn't loud but it carried to her. "You need to talk. You may not want to but you need to. When I return that is what we will do and I will not take no for an answer. Enjoy your bath my lady."

Then she heard Loki leave the room and Samantha was alone. She slipped off the loose shorts and t-shirt that she had worn the past couple of days and slipped into the bath. She let the warm water soak into her skin. She felt drowsy and her eyes began to close.

"_Did you know that in every generation there is a reincarnation of every Norse God that is still alive?" A familiar voice asked next to her. Samantha looked up and saw golden shields covering the roof and a tree bearing golden leaves. "So you will be the last reincarnation of Speki and that there's a Thor and Loki running about in the world unaware of why they look the way they do."_

"_Hello Coulson." Samantha smiled as she saw the SHIELD agent still in his black suit sat on a bench in front of her reading a book. Her voice sounded strange it was halfway between herself and Speki's voice. She also took note that she felt no injuries or pain that on Earth still lingered. "Where are we?"_

"_Valhalla." Coulson told her with his small smile. _

"_But I don't understand, I've never been here before."_

"_No but Speki has." Coulson told her. He placed his book to the side and Samantha walked over to sit down next to him. "She had only just arrived when you suffered your car accident. She felt your pain and she was a given a choice. Let you live but no longer exist here or let you die and she would wait in the Valhalla halls for __Ragnarök__."_

"_So that is why I got my powers." Samantha nodded her head finally understanding._

"_It has never been heard of. Reincarnations have some traits of the Gods like you with your intelligence beforehand but nothing like reawakening their powers has ever happened." The agent told her._

"_So how's the afterlife treating you?" Samantha asked. She motioned to the empty hall. "Looks pretty lonely."_

"_Because everyone else is invisible to you but I can see them enjoying their mead." Coulson let out a small laugh. They remained silent for a few moments. If Samantha focused she could make out the faint whispers of the dead but they weren't chilling almost welcoming._

"_Why am I here Coulson?" She asked._

"_Because you need advice." He told her. He turned his head and Samantha swore she could see her dad stood there watching her but then he was gone._

"_Wait was that-"_

"_Your father yes but he cannot speak to you."_

"_Why not?" Samantha demanded to know._

"_Odin has his reasons but both of us want you to know it's okay." He stared straight into her eyes. "I was like you and throughout my whole SHIELD service I only killed a handful of people and each one haunts me to this day. But I got up and I moved on because the world needed me to. It never gets any easier but the world keeps moving and if you don't get your head in the game soon Samantha it may not turn anymore."_

"_The world doesn't need me. It's got 6 other superheroes for that."_

"_But no Samantha Jennings." Coulson commented on. "Listen you now have a choice. You can stay here and watch Earth fall or you can return and kick some ass."_

_Samantha remained silent for a few moments._

"_The cellist in Portland composed something for you, made her famous." She told him._

"_I know." Sadness filled Coulson's voice. "See you soon Samantha."_

"_I hope not." She whispered back and the last she saw of Valhalla was Phil Coulson smiling at her._

Samantha gasped for air and she submerged out of the water. A few moments longer and she would have drowned. She stepped out of the bath and hurried to get clothes on.

She still called herself a murderer and once the bad guys were taken down she would deal with her own self issues then but for now the world needed her and the rest of the group didn't know about the others.

She slipped into jeans and a t-shirt with boots. She picked up scissors on her desk and cut her hair back to a length that suited her best. She then pulled it back into a small pony tail then rushed the control room.

As she entered the room fell silent and Fury stopped mid sentence. Everyone took in her clean clothes and new hair. Samantha stood with her legs apart and hands behind her back looking only at Fury.

"I know who took the cube." Was the first sentence she had uttered on the hellicarrier in two weeks yet her voice remained strong.

She ignored Loki's eyes on her and continued to stare at the director of SHIELD.

"And he's not finished with me yet."


	18. Escape

**2 things, first if anyone fancied drawing a picture for this story then I would be extremely grateful and use it for the cover. If you want anymore description because I know I don't put that much in for Samantha just PM me. That's only if you can guys otherwise just enjoy my story which is all I ask of you!**

**Second, 'I love Marvel Films' I won't be giving any clues away but I can rule out Red Skull, I know he and Thanos were the superbaddies behind Loki in the Avengers but I've gone off on my own tangent because I feel like I can be more creative. However the man in control has been mentioned in my stories all ready but I'm not going to say which one or where.**

**I feel so evil : P Anyway guys enjoy : )**

**Vex**

"There was a group of three, 2 males and one female." She began to tell the group. Once she started she did not want to stop. "The male in charge said that they only used Stein for something, I believe it was his little black button which caused me to walk into the warehouse. However when Loki arrived he said he did not need it anymore. He also said that he had not finished with me and that there is more to come."

"What about the other two?" Natasha asked. The rest of the room was still in shock from her presence. Samantha turned to look at the black widow.

"I don't know about the woman but the other was from Asgard." She saw Loki and Thor both tense slightly in the corner of her eye but she remained looking at the spy. "It is how they knew to drug me as this man tortured me back on Asgard using the same, as they would say, 'medicine'. He holds a grudge against me because I humiliated him."

"I don't understand how the man came to Earth?" Banner then asked.

"The guard was exiled after his treatment of Lady Samantha. We threw him off the Bifrost not knowing where he would land." Thor explained.

"Well he landed here and this group have the Tesseract. And if there threat to me was anything to go by then it won't be long before they strike." Samantha returned her gaze to Fury. "I plan to track these bastards down so if you'll excuse me that's what I'm going to do now."

She left before anyone could say otherwise and proceeded to a lab she knew no one else used. Someone was walking after her though and pulled her around to face them.

"Samantha you can take a break you know. We've got it covered." Gareth said.

"I need to find closure Gareth and the only way I'm going to do that is if I nail these guys. The world doesn't stop turning just because I was moping around." She told him. "Once this case is finished then I'll focus on my own problems. Now please let go of my wrist."

"Samantha you need to be eased back into work." Gareth said ignoring her request.

"Gareth let go of my wrist now." Her voice had turned harsh. She was not in the mood for him and wanted to be alone.

"Sam calm down what's wrong?" Gareth asked with eyes full of concern.

"You won't let go of my wrist" She spat at the agent.

"I think it would be best if you just take a few deep—"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Samantha warned Gareth. "You have no idea what I have been through and to have someone as pathetic as yourself try and calm me down is beneath me." Gareth eyes showed hurt and she didn't realise what she was saying. Only hate and anger filled her heart and her tongue.

"Beneath you? You starting to sound like Loki." Gareth said.

"For the last time let go of my wrist."

"Sam—"

Samantha grabbed hold of the hand holding her wrist and wretched it off breaking it in the process. She then flung Gareth to the side and pinned him against the wall with her mind. She could feel his life force and she slowly started to squeeze it and compress it. Gareth's face went red but Samantha didn't stop. She heard footsteps hurrying to them.

Someone pulled Samantha around to face them. She looked up to see the look of concern in Loki's eyes which snapped her out of her trance. With a gasp she released Gareth who slumped to the floor. She turned around to see a group of people checking his pulse.

"It's faint we need to get him to the medical bay stat." Hill told the group, her voice professional but her eyes full of worry.

Samantha finally released what she had done and the rest of the group turned to look at her with horror and fear. She took a step back and backed into Loki. She spun round to see his eyes full of shock. Samantha couldn't take anymore and just ran away from them. She ran down the corridor and didn't stop.

She kept running until she found herself in a maze of pipes and tunnels. The service corridor. Hoping no one would find her she found a corner and curled herself into a ball. The tears fell as she remembered what she had done.

Stein was right she could kill people with just a thought and she nearly had. She didn't know what had come over her and she didn't like it. She had meant what she said to Gareth at the time but now she felt like a fool. She was losing her mind. One minute she was fine getting over being a murderer and next she had snapped and nearly caused the death of another. Her friend.

"Samantha?" She heard a concerned voice call out to her. She remained curled in the corner hoping he wouldn't find her. He did though and Loki crouched down to her level. He held his hand out to stroke her face but she pushed it away as she stood up.

"Don't." She told him.

"The first word you say to me in two weeks is don't? I think I deserve a little more than that." He said trying to lighten the mood.

"But I don't" She turned away so she wasn't looking at him. "I don't deserve anything."

"Samantha you deserve the world." Loki told her. He took a step closer and was standing right behind her. "If you are worried about this man I will not let him harm you. You are safe now."

"A murderer deserves nothing."

"Stein was your first?"

"Yes. I killed aliens last year but Stein was the first human. It's alright for you. You've killed plenty but me?"

"Speki never went for the kill either you share that compassion." He rubbed her arm.

"But when she did kill I bet she didn't enjoy it?" She took a step out of Loki's reach to face him. She shouted the next park. "Because I did. I loved that power I had to decide who lives and who dies. I can feel everyone's life on this ship and I know I could end them instantly with a thought. And it scares me that I want to."

Loki and Samantha were silent for a few moments as Loki let her calm down. She sunk back to the floor and placed her head in her hands.

"If you hadn't of stopped me up there I would have killed him. I would have killed my friend not out of self defence but because I could." She continued. "What's happening to me?"

"You have finally released you are above these mortals." Loki said. "You just haven't come to terms yet with how to cope with that knowledge."

Loki reached down and grabbed her hand hauling her off the floor. He interlocked his fingers with her and traced her scar with his other hand. The small amount of magic that ran through them cooled the scar. Samantha knew he had made it less noticeable but could not get rid of it completely.

"When this is over you and I will forget the rest of humanity." Loki told her. "We will find our own secluded little spot where we can be above the rest of the universe just in one another's company. And if we ever are ready we will we return to society with our madness under control." He gave her a small smirk at the end and Samantha felt herself smirk back.

"But you have to return to Asgard for your sentence."

"I left for your well being and your well being is far from satisfactory let alone what I'm happy for it to be. Therefore I can remain out of the prison until you are healthy which is mental as well as physical. So I can escape humanity with you until you recover." Samantha leaned in Loki's body and hugged him placing her arms around his waist. She rested her head on his chest while his lay on top of hers. His arms circled her and pulled her closer to him.

"How long have you been planning that?" She whispered into his chest.

"Since you were safely back in my arms 2 weeks ago." He gave a little chuckle in response.

Samantha pulled back slightly so she could kiss him. He kissed her back slowly as he played with her hair while she held his face to hers. The kiss grew in passion and they were there for several minutes with their lips locked.

Samantha eventually pulled away for air and the Prince rested his forehead on hers.

"I do not deserve you." Samantha whispered.

"I think you'll find it is I who does not deserve you." Loki whispered back.

Loki reached down to kiss Samantha once more.

"Come on, no rest for the wicked." Samantha said with a small smile on her face which Loki returned. They held hands as they walked down the corridor back to the labs to start work tracking down the three strangers.

What they did not know was that the three strangers had already put their plan into action.


	19. Blue

**Shout out here to Vesper's Crow who has kindly offered to draw a picture of Samantha so virtual round of applause for Vesper's Crow. So as a thank you to Vesper's Crow I have decided to upload this chapter tonight which I had planned to upload tomorrow. I spoil you guys : p**

**Also when I describe what Loki is wearing imagine a mix between his Thor and Avengers costume and I thought I would bring in some light relief in this chapter though not for all of it. Enjoy : )**

**Vex**

"Good morning" A familiar voice purred in her ear. Samantha looked up to see Loki looking down at her. His arm was securely wrapped around her and held her close to him. He kissed the top of head as he rubbed her arm. Samantha buried her head into his chest breathing in his scent and feeling more relaxed than ever.

Their dreams sometimes connected but now that they saw each other every day they saw no need to be with each other in their dreams. Instead they let their imagination run wild. However on a few occasions Samantha had pulled Loki out of his so she could escape the nightmares in her own.

"Good morning." She replied back. They were currently in Samantha's bed after a well earned sleep. Both had been working tirelessly since Samantha had snapped awake last week. Both couldn't wait to leave and just forget about the rest of the world giving them a new target to work towards. Even though SHIELD were on high alert for the strangers nothing caused concern leaving time for the Avengers this time to actually get some sleep and rest.

"How long of you been awake?" He asked knowing that if Samantha had just woken up then she would be gasping from her re occurring death but instead she was calm.

"Not long, I thought I had woken you up." She said.

"You did but I was just enjoying having you in my arms and once we awoke I knew we would have to return to work." Loki began to play with her hair as she traced circles on his bare chest.

"You know it's very distracting for me when you sleep only in your boxers." She smirked at the Prince.

"I can sleep in less if you like." He whispered in her ear.

"I'm going to get ready." Samantha said smiling while pulling the covers off to go to the bathroom. However Loki grabbed her wrist causing her to spin around and pulled her on top of her.

"I think we can spare 5 more minutes." Loki smirked as he kissed her which Samantha returned. Loki rolled them over so he was now on top of her and his kisses travelled down her throat tickling her slightly.

"Loki, Lady Samantha, Fury has sent me so you are not late again this morning." Thor said on the other side of the door.

"We're just getting up now." Samantha shouted back but it was hard to keep her voice normal as Loki began to kiss her under her ear where she was always sensitive.

"Good I will meet you in the food hall." Thor told them.

"Will do." She heard Thor walk away. "That was not funny."

"I thought it was." Loki had a smirk on his lips and continued to kiss her but Samantha rolled them both so she was back on top. She leaned down to kiss him but only let her lips brush his before pulling away and heading to the bathroom. "Now that was not funny."

"Oh I thought it was." She said sending a smirk back to Loki who was also smirking then closed the bathroom door to have a shower.

She looked in the mirror and now the only physical indicator of her torture was the large scar on her face. Loki's magic had worked. All the other scars she thought would litter her body, were now non-existent where as the scar on her face was too big. It was far less noticeable but still there.

Samantha on the whole though looked a lot healthier than a week before. With a target in mind she had been able to clear her head of her ordeal and Stein. She knew she could not ignore it forever but that was what the escape with Loki would be. To sort out one another's differences and to help each other.

Samantha's shower was quick and she walked out the room in a towel which Loki's eyes did not wander from.

"Bathroom's free." She told him. Loki went into the bathroom himself and while he was doing so Samantha got ready. She towel dried her hair and placed in it a pony tail. She slipped on some skinny jeans and a Stark industries t-shirt just because she was bored of all the SHIELD ones and Stark had a few freebies lying around. She put her ankle high boots on, picking up her glasses she used when reading a computer screen.

She sat on the edge of the bed waiting for Loki when something caught her eye. It was a small box hidden under some of Loki's clothes which would magically clean themselves each night. For having his magic restricted Loki could easily manipulate it in ways Samantha never thought possible.

She tried to summon the small box to her hand but Loki had cast a spell on it so she couldn't get a fix on the box. Weird Samantha thought.

She heard Loki come out of the bathroom and soon felt his lips where her neck met her shoulder. He gave her a quick peck before he got ready himself. It took him only a flick of his hand for his clothes to instantly appear on him.

"What was under your clothes?" Samantha asked. It had disappeared along with his clothes as Loki put them on his body.

"What was what?" Loki asked confused.

"The small box." Samantha explained. Loki was stood in front of her as she remained sitting on the bed.

"Oh nothing of importance." Loki told her.

"It clearly was because when I tried to summon it, it wouldn't move. You placed a spell on it just so I couldn't see." She told him. "What are you hiding from me?"

"I think it best if we get to work." Loki held the door open for her. Samantha went, knowing that he would tell her in time. She sighed as she walked past him.

Loki wasn't wearing his full armour but his toned down version like Thor. He wore his black mid thigh jacket with his green chest plate; black trousers and black boots. Samantha was glad he hadn't brought what she called, the cow helmet with him. He took her hand in his as they walked to meet Thor for breakfast. They didn't say anything but just walked enjoying one another's company.

When they arrived they grabbed some cereal and Samantha made sure she had a cup of tea to wake her up. She looked over to see Thor waving at them madly trying to catch their attention and which he succeeded.

"My brother can be such an embarrassment." Loki whispered in her ear. Samantha kept her smile to herself that Loki was willing calling Thor his brother again without the usual hatred. She also took note that the rest of the group seemed comfortable in his presence even talking to him like friends when they were together.

Samantha on the other hand was having a hard time. The rest of the Avengers had forgiven her outburst but the rest of SHILED hadn't. They avoided her at all costs scared she would kill them. Gareth was still in the medical bay and she had wanted to go see him but she didn't think it was a good idea when Hill was always sniffing around. That woman had a death warrant over Samantha now.

Loki and Samantha sat down opposite Thor and Rogers. Loki draped his hand over the back of Samantha's seat. Not only was it to get close to her but to show to others that she was his as he was hers. The group talked a little about the case but were interrupted when a yell was heard on the other side of the door. Everyone in the room jumped up for action.

What they didn't expect was for Tony Stark to come blazing in with bright blue hair.

Everyone was silent for a few moments before Samantha broke the silence with her laughter. Her laughter became infectious and soon the whole room was in stitches. Stark stormed over and addressed Loki.

"What did you do?" He asked.

"Me? Nothing." Loki looked taken aback at the accusation but when Stark's eyes left his for a moment Loki shot Samantha a wink which caused her to fall into another laughing fit.

"You did something. Who else on this ship thing could turn someone's hair blue?" Stark asked. He was trying to be annoyed but Samantha could see he was trying not to laugh. "What did I ever do to you? You know apart from stopping you from taking over the Earth and everything."

"Let's just say I would keep your eyes in the face area. Do not let them drift." Loki threatened but his tone had slight humour.

"Okay I promise not to look at Samantha's ass again." Stark said like the little child he was. "Now can I please have my hair back?"

_Come on Loki let him have his hair back. _Samantha told him telepathically.

_But Samantha..._

_If he does it again don't worry, he'll have to deal with me. I think bald would be suiting don't you? _Loki smirked at Samantha's remark but their communication went unnoticed by the others.

Loki was silent for a few moments before a quick flick of his wrist and Stark's hair returned to its natural colour.

"Thank you." He said before joining them for breakfast.

Many hours later Samantha and Loki returned to their room for a well earned sleep. They lay in bed snuggled up together just talking.

"You know, I believe this morning was the first time I've heard you laugh since you got back. A proper laugh not some half hearted chuckle you sometimes do" Loki commented.

"I think you may be right." Samantha realised. "And you master of Mischief are running out of tricks. You've used that little spell on Speki and me already."

"I have an infinite number of tricks they are just restricted as my magic is." Loki countered.

"You seem to like working on the right side of the law." Samantha told him. "I think you and Tony Stark have bromance blossoming the way you two talk at meals."

"The mortal keeps me entertained." Loki admitted with a small smile on his face.

"And you've also started to call Thor your brother again." Samantha said quietly.

"So I have." Loki murmured. They were both thoughtful for a moment before Samantha sat up and looked at Loki. He was surprised by her sudden movement and shifted his body so he was sitting beside her.

"Look I know you are probably going to tell me in the near future but that little box has been annoying me all day, what is in it?" Samantha finally asked.

Loki looked thoughtful for a moment before he stepped out of the bed and reached over to his clothes. He picked up the box in question and Samantha's thoughts stopped.

"It was supposed to be a birthday present I had for you on Asgard. But then you got taken to Earth however I still hoped I could give it you on your birthday. Then." Loki's jaw clenched when he recalled what had happened. "Then well...when you came back it wasn't appropriate to ask you. I then planned to wait until we returned to Asgard after our holiday of sorts. However I realise now it doesn't matter where or when only who"

Loki bent down on one knee and opened the box. Inside a ring where the circle was made of two snakes entwined with one another and the jewel was an emerald, the exact same shade as Loki's eyes.

"Samantha Jennings I love you more than you can possible imagine. If it had not been for you I would have been consumed by my darkness until I was nothing more than an empty shell. You are mine Samantha Jennings as I am yours." Loki told her. "I want the world to know that. I want to be able to see you every day for the rest of my existence and be able to call you my wife so no other can look at you the way I do and feel for you the way I do. So Miss Jennings it leads me to ask one question, will you marry me?"

Before she could answer it felt like a red hot needle was thrust in to her head.

_Aw Miss Jennings how sweet of him. Sorry to break the moment though but there are a few things we need to discuss._

The man in charge's voice echoed in her head. This time she did not scream but collapsed into Loki's arms.

Then the images started.


	20. A Proposition

**Only update for today guys sorry that's why I've updated later in the day than usual. Also to answer 'I love Marvel Films' question...**

**Yes I have another story planned to accompany the 7****th**** Warrior and the 7****th**** Avenger. However it might not be as straight forward as you think. I've been leaving little hints and clues throughout this story about it. **

**Furthermore, I plan to have 2 one shots following the ending of this story but then once those are done I'm going to move on as I have other stories rampaging in my head. For example a completely different Loki/OC and a Steve Rogers/OC. That doesn't mean I will never come back to Samantha, she was my first and will always be special to me, but I want to try writing other characters. But like I said I plan to finish this one, two one-shots, then the third in this series before I move on to do anything else. I like to finish a project before I start a new one.**

**Okay well ramblings over I would say enjoy the chapter but this isn't a pleasant one.**

**Vex**

"_Stop it, please just stop it!" Samantha yelled into the blackness. More images emerged each worse than the last. _

_Her father shot through the heart. Her mother as Samantha had turned to her after the car accident, lifeless. Next were images that Samantha had never seen before but felt instant sadness when she saw them. 6 brothers all lined up but were quickly changed to each one's death. Samantha knew they were Speki's family but she still felt grief and sorrow when she saw them die._

_The Avengers soon filled her vision each one dying more horribly than the last. Gareth's especially hurt her, he seemed to be reaching out to her but she could do nothing to stop it. _

_The final image was of Loki. He just lay at her feet staring up at her with dead eyes. Samantha couldn't take anymore, she just sunk to her knees and cried._

"_I think you've seen enough of them." A voice behind her said. She looked up to see the images had disappeared and she was in a white room. She stood up and turned around to face the three strangers she had yet to meet._

_The man from Asgard looked exactly the same as he had when torturing her. His face had a small sneer with eyes full of hate only directed at her. The woman on the other hand showed no emotion. Her bleach blonde hair was scraped back into a tight bun and her smart business suit showed how much of a professional she was. The man stood in the centre though was the one Samantha couldn't believe._

"_You're supposed to be dead." Samantha stuttered cleaning up the last of her tears. His voice had changed from what she remembered._

"_I am." The man's voice was quiet._

"_Where am I?" Samantha asked._

"_Your imagination. We just jumped in for the hell of it." _

"_You controlled my thoughts though and you've pulled me here for a reason, what for?"_

"_A proposition." His smile was small but far from nice. "With your intelligence and the Tesseract you could reshape the whole of the universe Samantha. Make us Gods while others insects. You could literally have the world as clay in your hands and remodel it for the better."_

"_The Tesseract is just a gateway I couldn't do that even if I wanted to."_

"_There is so much you need to learn Miss Jennings and we are offering you that."_

_Samantha was silent for a few moments and she surveyed the three._

"_I'm guessing Blondie over here." Samantha inclined her head to the women. "Wants revenge against Natasha and this thug wants revenge against me. So where do you come into this Jeffeson?"_

_For that was who stood in front of her. The blonde had clearly trained with the master assassin. You could easily distinguish by her body posture and the similarities between her and Natasha. The man from Asgard had a grudge against her but for Jeffeson stood in the middle, Samantha had no idea what to think._

"_Very good Miss Jennings." The Norwegian smiled at her. "Ever since you visited me I realised there is such a bigger picture than making money. The world needs saving which is what we are here to do. Einar here, are associate from Asgard, believes that the Gods have lost their touch. They need to be brought back down to where they belong. Kendra knows how all governments are corrupted after they so cruelly took her childhood from her training her to kill. Together we formed an alliance to save the world from itself and to start a fresh which is what you can do."_

_Samantha remained quiet staring at Jeffeson._

"_So I faked my own death and waited until I found suitable companions like these two for my plans to begin. If it hadn't had been for Kendra we could never had set up the trap for you with her associates and Einar here gave us the perfect solution to how to keep you under control. A drug I believe your dear Loki explained to him about." At the mention of Loki Samantha's jaw clenched and her hands balled into fists. "Hit a nerve there didn't I? Well I am sorry you had to go through the torture but we had to amuse Stein until we could infiltrate SHIELD and get the cube." _

"_But you wanted the little black button so you could control me to bend the cube to your will." Samantha finished for him. "What changed? You could easily have moved me before SHIELD found me again."_

"_A take away precious time from your loved ones? We needed to strengthen those bonds not destroy them." Jeffeson told her._

"_Why me?"_

"_Because you are the only one who has the intelligence to bend the cube to your will. We maybe could have got Loki on board but his thoughts would not be pure like yours and he does not have the mental capacity you have."_

"_Well if you're looking for pure you should be looking elsewhere. Believe me, you should be washing my mind out with soap with the amount of things I'm calling you right now in my head." Samantha smiled refusing to be intimated by these three. _

"_But don't you see Samantha? You yourself have already admitted that you are above the rest of humanity, don't you and Loki plan to escape from it?"_

"_How did you get in my head?" Samantha hissed._

"_Prince Loki should really have kept his spell books better hidden than lying on the floor of his room." The Aesir smiled vindictively at her._

"_I'll tell him to keep it tidy." She shot back._

"_But isn't it your job as his whore to tidy it up?" The ex-guard asked. Samantha sent him sprawling into the wall and held him there with a thought. She couldn't feel his life force only his mind but she was sure he would leave with one hell of a headache._

"_People please, I don't see why we all can't just get along?" Jeffeson intervened. Samantha let the Aesir drop to the ground and turned her attention back to the remaining two._

"_We only have a few more minutes before her mind gives out. We need to finish here." The blonde informed Jeffeson. _

"_How about I do that?" Samantha cut in. "No. I won't join you but I will stop you."_

"_Do you want to know why we no longer need Stein's little black button?" Jeffeson asked but he didn't wait for an answer. "Because Prince Loki joined us. So Samantha you would have had three options, one where you join willingly and everyone else remains out of harm's way but somehow I knew that wouldn't work."_

"_The other two?" Samantha asked._

"_One resulting in the images you saw moments ago, pay special attention to Loki's, or you help us?" Jeffeson told her. "I'm sorry to say you will die either way. We can't afford you to be able to restore the world once we have re shaped it but all for the greater good eh? We expect to see you in your house you grew up in. A nice little place to start a new world with the ending of yours. Be there soon."_

_Jeffeson then lunged and stabbed Samantha through the heart._

"_A way to wake you up instead of going through a boring repeat. Oh if you tell anyone on the hellicarrier about this then I will personally snap Loki's mind in two, worse than dead but a hollow shell of a man." He whispered into her ear as she sunk to her knees. _

Samantha shot up breathing heavily, eyes wide open. She didn't take in the room only how surreal the knife in her heart had been. It was more painful than whenever she lived it through Speki. Her hands firmly gripped the sheets of the bed she lay in and it took several moments for her to calm down.

"Samantha?" A voice said next to her. Samantha whipped her head around to see Loki sat in a chair next to the bed. She was in the medical bay hooked up to wires. Loki stood up and sat at her feet. He pulled her into his safe arms hold her tightly against his body.

"I'm sorry." She told him. Not just for this but for everything that was about to happen.

"Don't ever do that to me again!" He threatened but his tone was of relief. "Promise?"

"Promises are made to be broken." She whispered into his chest. She knew he had heard her but he ignored the comment and kissed her forehead gently pulling her closer into his chest.

The promise Samantha had made back on Asgard felt like a lifetime ago but she knew now that she would have to break it.

She refused to ever see those images they made her witness, come true which also meant she knew what she had to do next. 


	21. Shall we begin?

**Okay I know I said I was only going to update once today but I spoil you guys too much.**

**Lauren: Sorry to say Gareth doesn't feature in this one but he will be back I've got a major scene to come with him. So please just hang on that little longer.**

**Thanks for the reviews each one putting a smile on my face and actually giving me the incentive to upload this chapter tonight. **

**Heads up here I felt a bit teary writing this one. You may or may not feel the same but there are good elements. Maybe not massive but still there. I know this story has been a bit darker but there are happy moments to come but also a lot of heart aches yet to happen. **

***Evil laugh***

**If you want something to cheer you up after check this video out on youtube:**

**watch?v=wDLAEbAzrxU**

**It's called Dreamvengers and just made me laugh so hard. Thought I would tell you about it in case the chapter upsets you. This will put a smile on your face : )**

**Anyway once more I am rambling, on with the story**

**Vex **

"Samantha you're up, good we got a hit in LA seems the strangers are making their move." Rogers said as he popped his head around the door.

"LA? What could possible interest them there?" Loki asked as he turned to Steve.

"Beats me both of you just be ready to go." Rogers turned to leave when an explosion happened. Just a quick burst but enough for a window to break right by Rogers. He got sucked out and looked to be losing his grip when Loki lunged and grabbed his hand. Loki was risking his own life to save Captain America.

Loki pulled both of them back inside and with a wave of his hand the window was restored. Stark took this moment in time to speak across the intercom.

"Sorry about that, minor error with the new suit. Carry on as if nothing happened." Stark said.

"Stark get off my intercom!" Fury ordered. His voice was quieter showing he was further away. His voice then picked up though as he addressed the Hellicarrier. "All agents perform a quick sweep of the environment. Some windows were shattered in several places I want status reports in 5 minutes."

The announcement finished. Samantha barely took it in though as she just stared at Loki as he helped Rogers to his feet.

"Thank you." Rogers said.

Loki just nodded his head before turning back to Samantha. Rogers left but was quickly replaced by a doctor.

"Loki can you meet me in our room in 5 minutes I just need to talk to the doctor alone." Loki gave Samantha a funny look before relenting. He kissed her gently and quickly on the lips before leaving the room like she asked.

The talk with the doctor was brief and soon Samantha was walking back to her room with a detour to Stark's lab. She just needed to borrow one little gadget off him.

"What did the man say?" Loki asked as soon as Samantha walked into the room.

"My blood sugar was low." She told him not looking him in the eye. "I was working too hard and hadn't eaten enough. I'm fine now though the doctor gave me something."

"What are you doing?" He asked next as he watched her change into her armour.

"Getting ready to go" She shrugged. She found the bracelet he had given her back on Asgard in amongst her clothes. She picked it up and put it on keeping part of Loki with her.

"You've just collapsed from doing too much and not resting. Therefore you will now rest." Loki told her but Samantha kept getting ready. "What else is it? You're hiding something from me."

"I'm not hiding anything." She said still not looking him in the eye.

"Samantha stop lying to me. I am the God of lies and I can tell when someone diverts from the truth." Samantha ignored his comment though. She sheathed Fear into it holder and carried on getting ready around the room. "Samantha." Loki grabbed hold of her shoulders and forced her to look at him.

"Loki-"

"If this is about marriage do not feel pressured into anything. I am sorry if I made you feel like this all I want is for you to be happy." He looked at her. Samantha could see in his emerald eyes the fear of rejection.

"It's not that." Samantha told him.

"Then what is it?" Loki's frustration started to show. "Samantha what have you got in your ears?"

Samantha pressed the button behind Loki's head which cause paralysis. He sunk to the ground but Samantha caught him and sat him on the bed. The veins began to appear on his head and Samantha did not like seeing him like this. But she had to do it.

She took out the ear buds she had placed in her ears and knelt in front of Loki. She took his hands in hers.

"Heimdall I know you can hear me and I want you to tell Odin that Loki should be freed upon his arrival back to Asgard. After witnessing him save someone else's life and risking his own in the process is proof enough to me he has reformed." Samantha returned her gaze from the ceiling back to Loki's eyes. They tried to convey emotion but she could not read it. He also tried to talk through his mind but Samantha had altered the settings so he could do nothing but watch and listen. She knew that if he tried to talk to her she would back out of her plan which she couldn't.

"When I found out that I was Speki reincarnated I was scared and worried and gods know what else. But then you were always there supporting me through it. You may not have always been guiding me in the right light for example need I go into what happened at Stark tower?." She let out a small chuckle. "Do you know why I love you? Let me count the ways. Your humour and mischief but also your intelligence and compassion. You stand for what you believe in though sometimes you take it to the extreme. You put my needs in front of your own which the same can't be said for me. I don't know you managed the last couple of months but you did and you're now here with me. Even though it has made this harder I wouldn't have changed this time with you back in the Hellicarrier once I snapped out of my moping. And now that I have to leave it just makes me think of all those times we were fighting or I shunned you. Because I shouldn't have. I took for granted my time with you. I thought we would have most of eternity together but I see now that life is a bitch and makes you only realise what you have once you're about to lose it."

"I wish I could go back and make each kiss last that little longer; each hug and morning cuddle just take a little more time. But I can't and now I have to leave with what I have which is more than I could ever have asked for. I'm just greedy asking for more"

"I do this because I know you will try and talk me out of it but I cannot let you do that." Her voice remained calm but Samantha could feel she was on the verge of tears. She placed her hand on to Loki's face for a few moments before returning to holding both his hands. She kissed them then carried on talking to him, trying to explain. "I have to do this alone and I won't be coming back from this so this is good bye." Her voice cracked at the end but she kept going.

"You don't know how much I would love to say yes to you and we just run away and forget about everything and everybody. But I can't. They won't let me. I refuse to run from this problem because I know it would catch up with us eventually no matter what we do. I'm going to end this but I can't risk you getting hurt because that is how they we will win. They have you in their grasp like they have me. I should have stayed on Asgard with you and I will admit that for once you were right while I was wrong." She gave him a sad smile as the tears began to flow.

"Remember humiliation is the key not violence. I know I said promises are made to broken but you have to swear on your love for me that you won't let the darkness consume you again. You have to fight it and be above it because you are. You are the most handsome, intelligent and all round amazing being I have ever met. I still pinch myself everyday expecting to wake up not believing you chose me to love. Out of all the nine realms Prince Loki chose me...but I have to go now." Samantha chocked back further tears as she reached up and kissed Loki. He could not return her kiss but she didn't care. She kissed his lips and she held his face to hers. She finally broke away resting her forehead on his, breathing in his scent for the last time. "I love you Loki Odinson and never forget that."

She kissed the top of his forehead before stepping back. She took a few breaths to calm herself down wiping away the tears that flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks. She pressed her newly made watch and disappeared to the ground below.

"Ah Miss Jennings fancy seeing you here." Jeffeson said.

Samantha looked to see the three stood around the Tesseract lifted on a pedestal.

"Shall we begin?"


	22. The Beginning

**I didn't update yesterday :O Sorry was out all day but I have an update for you now which I had rather a lot of fun writing. I won't give hints but I felt a bit like the Doctor when writing this.**

**Anyway not many chapters left guys : ( but thank you for all the support you have given and over a 100 reviews is incredible :D so thank you again.**

**Also update on the picture, Vesper's Crow is doing an amazing job and they've shown me some sketches. All were amazing but there one I saw and immediately went that is Samantha! I can't wait for you all to see the final picture!**

**Final thing I'm sorry if there are mistakes in this chapter. I've checked it through lots of times but I still always miss stuff. Right on with the story**

**Vex**

"What have you done to LA?" Samantha asked.

"Just a little army our friend from Asgard managed to conjure. Nothing big but enough to distract them long enough so by the time they've finished they realise you're gone and can't find you." Jeffeson told her. "Oh and I must say your heartfelt speech to Loki brought a tear to my eye. Tears of pity but tears nonetheless."

Samantha's jaw tightened and her hands balled into fists at her side. Just keep calm Samantha told herself. She looked at the three and now noticed how the blonde woman had changed out of the business suit to a cat suit similar to Natasha's. The few differences was that there was no SHIELD logo on the arms and along the belt were daggers as well as two guns. The Aesir had decided to change into his armour that he must have stolen from Asgard while Jeffeson remained in his suit.

"Now Samantha we can carry on talking or we can begin a new world. I think you know what to do next." Jeffeson said.

Samantha stared at him straight in the eye for several minutes before sighing and slowly approaching the pedestal. Her hands hovered above the Tesseract and the air hummed with energy.

"If I touch this what's to say I won't just disappear like Red Skull?" She asked.

"Nothing but it'll be fun to find out." Jeffeson said with a small smile on his face.

Samantha could see her hands shaking and she held her breath as she approached the cosmic cube. Her hands were mere millimetres from the surface when a small bleeping noise went off.

"What is that?" Jeffeson asked confused. He looked down at Samantha's watch where the beeping originated from. Samantha felt herself smirk as she felt a distant link become more powerful than ever as it gave her the conformation she needed.

"Sorry Jeffeson looks like today just isn't your day." Samantha said as she stepped back from the group of three. Her smile prominent on her face and her voice now strong and somewhat arrogant. All sadness and nervousness present earlier was now erased.

"What are you talking about?" He hissed.

"Let me be a little clearer. I'm not going to do what you say. You have no leverage over me now."

"I'm sure poor Loki won't feel the same way." He nodded at the Aesir who proceeded to scrunch his face up in effort to snap the Prince's mind. Samantha held her laughter at the constipation the man looked to have about him. Her smile though remained wide as she examined her fingernails. He stayed frozen for several moments before opening his eyes and looking exhausted. With a small shake of the head to Jeffeson he had confirmed Samantha's plan. "But I don't understand."

"You see during my heartfelt speech I gave permission for Loki to have all his powers restored. The bleeping of the watch was just a notice to tell me the maximum amount of time had passed for Odin to remove the bonds on Loki." Samantha was enjoying each face slowly turn to horror and disbelief as she explained her plan. She turned her attention to the ex-guard. "Not so hard to control the mind of a God at full strength is it?"

"Maybe but we can still punish you." The Aesir sneered as he once again scrunched up his face trying to cause her unimaginable pain.

"Oh please stop it's unbearable I'll do whatever you want. Just make the pain go away." She said with no emotion in her voice and sarcasm dripping from every word. The man's eyes went wide with disbelief. "You only have yourself to blame this time. You put me through so much torture that my mind has literally snapped into several pieces. So I can feel you in one part of my mind but not the majority henceforth I can block you out."

Samantha had discovered this back on the hellicarrier when she noticed one night how there was a nagging sensation in the back of her mind. She had decided to explore it to find the three trying to infiltrate her thoughts. For a moment she paused and realised that if she wanted to find out their plan then she would have to suffer the pain they put her through.

"So the speech to Loki was an act just to fool us?" Jeffeson asked. He tried to hide it but deep down Samantha could see he was impressed.

"Parts of it were. Parts of it weren't. I'll let you decide which parts were which." She smirked at the man. Her watch started to bleep again. "Ah excellent."

"What is?" She could see Jeffeson was scared. Samantha noticed the woman's eyes widened in alarm as she checked her phone.

"Jeffeson we-"

"That one was to tell me that your army in LA had just been defeated." Samantha said cutting her off before she could say it herself. "So here are your choices. One- you hand yourselves in and spend a lot of time in prison but you don't get the crap beaten out of you. Or two- you get the crap beaten out of you and spend a lot of time in prison. Your choice."

"You seem rather arrogant for a girl all alone." Jeffeson commented. "Especially when we have an army." He pressed a button and looked around to see the walls of her house lift to reveal rows upon rows of soldiers that were a mix between human, frost giant and something else. She also turned to see the large garden reveal rows of these soldiers as well. Glad that her mum had earned enough money from her job for them to afford a large house with their own acre or so. It meant no one would get hurt in the attack and they had plenty of room to fight.

"Wow you've redecorated. Have you done something with the curtains?" She asked humour in her voice.

"Jokes will not help you Miss Jennings." Jeffeson threatened. Samantha unsheathed Fear and took her stance ready to fight.

"But I'm not alone." And as if on cue several Quinjets of SHEILD appeared to surround the house.

"But how—" Jeffeson stuttered.

"I may have put a teleportation device like my watch in all the plane things." Samantha shrugged.

"How did they find us?" Jeffeson hissed in panic.

"Again I may have a tracking device in this." She pointed to her watch. "Who knew a little watch could be that helpful?"

Jeffeson just screamed in fury. The soldiers took this as their order to attack. Samantha sent some flying with her mind but there were too many so she had to result to hand to hand combat. Sending Fear flying through the crowd she impaled five in a row before the spear flew back into her hand. Samantha watched as the three tried to disappear into a back room but she sent them flying across the air with a thought and she heard three satisfying thuds as the fell to the floor.

Samantha couldn't contain the surge of warriors and was forced out of the house. Her body began to grow tired as she kicked one in the chest while stabbing another behind her. She flipped backwards and rolled to get into another space. A circle formed around her as the abominations kept coming. One caught her off guard as she was fighting another and tripped her to the floor. As she lay on her back waiting for the final blow an unmistakable plasma bolt shot the beast straight off her.

"Thought you might like some help kiddo." Stark said as he zoomed past her dropping an ear piece in her lap. She placed it in her ear smirking at the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.

"Samantha duck" She heard Rogers say behind her. She did just that and felt the iconic shield sail past her head. He soon joined her in the circle. Samantha could make out lightening making its way towards them with green flares accompanying it. She had a feeling who they belonged too.

A warrior stumbled through and fell to the floor with an arrow through the eye which Hawkeye soon pulled out and shot into another. Black widow by his side shooting into the crowd. They both gave their nods to Samantha before carrying on taking out the enemy.

Samantha could see bodies flying in the air as the Hulk joined them and was gleefully smashing anything that got too close. The soldiers began to retreat slightly giving the group a little more room.

"I'm sorry about not letting you in on the plan Cap." Samantha told Rogers as they covered one another's back and she sliced the chest of an enemy.

"I don't think it's me you have to apologise to." He said knocking another one out with his shield.

"Samantha watch your back." Samantha heard Gareth say in her ear. She turned immediately and sent the gun in the soldier's hand flying to the floor with a knock of Fear on his kunckles. The creature charged but she kicked it in the head and it too fell to the floor.

"Gareth about—"

"Samantha now is not the best time to sort out what happened. Just kick some butt and then we can talk but only if you kick enough butt though." Gareth told her. He must have been in one of the Quinjets she thought. She smiled glad that he was feeling better.

Soon the lightening and green flashes joined them as the group expanded the circle. Thor saw her and ran to give her a hug. She felt all the wind rush out of her as he wrapped his massive arms around her waist.

"Lady Samantha you gave us quite a fright." He told her.

"Yeah sorry about that listen I'll explain it after but—DUCK!" She shouted at him. He did just so and let her go. She sent Fear flying into a soldier about to stab Thor in the back. He repaid the favour by sending his hammer straight into the crowd behind her taking out at least ten of the army.

"You better you plan to explain it to us." She heard a familiar voice say in her ear. She turned around to face Loki. His eyes were full of anger but also relief.

"I promise." She told him looking him dead in the eye.

"Promises are made to be broken" He reminded her.

"Not this one." She reached up kissing him quickly and lightly on the lips before pulling him down and using Fear to chop a creature's head off as it lunged at Loki. "That is disgusting." She commented on feeling slightly sick watching as the body stumbled around before falling to the floor.

The group formed a circle. It reminded Samantha of a slightly similar time in New York but she didn't have time to reminisce.

The battle was only just beginning.


	23. Payback

"Stark, Hulk and Thor you stay out here and carry on blasting the bastards up. Samantha, Loki and Natasha I need you three to head inside and get the cube. The longer these three have it in their possession the more powerful they become and more of an army they can send to us. Barton you and me will escort them to the house and stop any other unwanted getting in." Rogers told the group taking up the role of team leader. Quickly Hulk returned to smashing while Stark and Thor joined in with a rain of plasma volts and lightening.

"We can get in through the cellar. There's an opening round the side of the house." Samantha told the group as she pointed in the direction they needed to head in. "I used to live here." She explained to them.

They formed a V-shape with Samantha leading the way followed by Loki and Rogers on either side and finishing with Hawkeye and Black Widow. Each Avenger was constantly in battle. Samantha could hear the Natasha's gun going off while catching glimpse of daggers flying from Loki. They eventually reached the door Samantha had directed them to.

Samantha took a moment catching her breath and felt a sharp stabbing pain in her side. Her hand reached for the area automatically and came back red. She had been cut without even realising.

"Samantha." Loki said next to her. He saw the blood on her hands and reached down to where she was injured. The full force of his magic flooded his fingers and seconds later the cut was healed. His cool hands comforting and reassuring on her side getting rid of the rest of the aches and pains that inhabited her body in that moment in time.

She smiled her thanks before turning to the rest of the group. A line of soldiers were advancing towards them but with a sweep of her hand accompanied by a thought the line collapsed on the ground.

The hatch leading to the cellar was bolted but Natasha quickly dealt with this using her gun. The red head went first followed by Samantha and finally Loki.

"You have 10 minutes otherwise we're coming in after you." Rogers shouted to the group before he became too occupied with the gathering number of hostiles around him.

The cellar was dark and dusty and the only light came from the green flame Loki lit in his hands. The group approached the stairs. Both Natasha and Loki not making a sound where as Samantha could hear the slight tap of her feet. Both parties turned to look at her.

"Hey sorry I'm not a master assassin or a god from Asgard." She held her hands up in defence. She could see the outline of a smirk in Loki's face as the two turned back around and carried on walking forward. Samantha hung back a little but only half a step out.

They slowly climbed up the stairs and entered the kitchen Samantha could remember everything about. She didn't have time to reminisce though as she over took Natasha and Loki and led them to the room where the three had last been seen. They walked through the house unopposed as most of the army seemed to have gone outside to fight. Nonetheless each of them kept their weapons out ready to attack.

Samantha approached where she had last seen the wanna be villains but they were no longer there. She turned around to face the other two but neither was looking at her. They scanned the room awaiting an attack. Samantha could feel it too and knew they were not alone.

The Tesseract did not appear to be on the pedestal any longer but if Samantha focused she could make out little movements in the air surrounding the podium. Interesting she thought but she didn't have time to think on that line of thought as Samantha felt herself become anxious. Natasha, Loki and Samantha stood in a triangle all facing outward.

"Natasha take the blonde, Loki the guy from Asgard and I'll take Jeffeson." Samantha whispered out of the corner of her mouth but she knew they had heard her. Suddenly the three came into attack and each of them became involved in their own battle.

Jeffeson had lunged at Samantha which she had easily deflected and rolled to the side. Time seemed to slow down as Samantha thought of the strategy she could use to inflict the most amount of pain on this guy. She had promise the crap beaten out of him and planed to deliver.

Jeffeson had been working out that much she could tell. Obviously becoming prepared in case he ever had to fight. He was a tall lean man but wearing a suit was impractical and reduced his reach. She would send a low kick to his feet which he would stumble from but not fall over. Then an upper cut to his jaw followed by a simultaneous slap on both ears to disorientate him. He would blindly lash out with a punch but Samantha would catch the fist and twist it, maybe breaking it in the process. With his hand in her grasp she would bring Fear around his legs and send him to the fall. One final kick in the nose to also maybe break it and Jeffeson would be out cold.

However what Samantha didn't anticipate was Jeffeson coming straight back with a punch that caught her straight on the jaw. She knew Jeffeson had broken a knuckle of two so that hand was now weak. He went to attack again but Samantha blocked him and kicked him square in the chest. He hurtled backwards several feet and slammed into the wall. 2 maybe 3 broken ribs Samantha guessed. Once Jeffeson stumbled back up though clutching his side, he still didn't rest. Samantha now placed her plan into action as Jeffeson ran towards her and two minutes later he was out cold.

Satisfied she turned around to see Natasha and blondie locked in a fierce battle. Samantha felt like stepping in and helping but something else caught her attention.

The ex-guard looked about to stab Loki and Samantha felt the world freeze. Her heart stopped in her chest as she saw the knife plunge. She pulled Fear back ready to take out the man before realising Loki had it covered. The Aesir went straight through the projection of Loki.

The real Loki appeared behind him and when the man turned around Loki stabbed him in the chest. Samantha took note that he didn't kill the ex-guard only made it unbelievably painful for him. Samantha could live with that.

She walked over to Loki as the two watched Natasha beat the other woman to a pulp. Making it obvious to Samantha now why Natasha was the number one and blondie was only a jealous wanna be.

"Are you okay?" Loki asked her taking her chin in her hands. She could already feel it bruising and a low throb settled in the bone. He examined it turning it side to side.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" She asked seeing a few cuts appear on his face and his armour torn in places.

"Nothing magic can't fix." He smirked at her. He wrapped her in his arms and buried his head into her hair. Samantha buried her head into his neck breathing in his scent she thought she would never smell again. She would never tell him but part of her actually thought she wouldn't make it back to Loki.

"Sorry to break up the moment but we still have the small problem of finding the Tesseract." Natasha told them. The couple stepped apart.

"You won't find it." They all turned to look at Jeffeson who was pointing a gun directly at Samantha. Loki took a step in front of Samantha shielding her away from Jeffeson.

"Seriously Jeffeson can you not stay out cold for at least ten minutes? I would even take 5." Samantha sighed in exasperation.

"Very funny Miss Jennings but I'm sorry to say I have to leave you now taking the Tesseract with me." Jeffeson smiled at her. His free hand clutched his side from his broken ribs and his suit was torn and dirty.

"You mean the Tesseract just here?" Samantha asked. She stepped out from behind Loki who clutched her wrist in response trying to stop her. She looked in his eyes as he warned her but she gently touched his hand to let her go. Though Samantha didn't force him to, he trusted her and let her go. She noticed though how his dagger lay ready in his hands ready to fly into the air at a moment's notice.

She reached out to the pedestal a step away from her and uncovered the glowing cube. She removed the blanket she had designed and threw it to the floor. "One of my designs I sold to a Dr Higsmith. Who just so happened to be a work colleague of Stein before he left the University in Moscow and joined your crazy band of lunatics. I recognise my own inventions a mile off."

Jeffeson lost for words just kept opening and closing his mouth like a fish. He then snapped out of it and she heard the safety cap be pulled back.

"Recognise thi-"

Jeffeson was cut off by an iconic shield hitting him in the back of the head. He just slumped to the floor to reveal Rogers and Barton stood behind him.

"Times up." Rogers smirked at them.

Samantha turned around to see Hulk, Thor and Ironman all in the doorway apparently finished outside. She could make out Fury, Hill and Gareth all stood waiting as well.

"Now Samantha that explanation you promised." Loki said next to her.

Samantha felt the room close in on her slightly as she gave out a little chuckle.

This should be fun.


	24. Explaining

**I love Marvel Films: The picture isn't finished yet but as soon as it has I'll let you know : )**

**Lauren: Quite a bit of Gareth in this chapter. Told you I had a plan : )**

**Okay the ending seems a little farfetched but it is part of the plan even though it seems like it just popped into my head. Okay well parts of it did but I did plan for it to go that way as it leads me to my ending. Again sorry for any mistakes, I always read, re read and re read countless times yet I always miss stuff. **

**Vex**

"Well...urm...well you see...I...I had no idea what I was doing." She admitted to the group with an ever increasing red face. "Everything that happened was just chance after chance that luckily went my way."

"So you could have destroyed the world as we know it but didn't because lady luck was smiling on you?" Stark asked flipping open his face mask. Samantha gave a half shrug and nod as a response. "Unbelievable."

"Were you really that crazy on the Hellicarrier or was that all an act too?" Banner asked. He had quickly returned to the scientist form once Hulk was no longer needed.

"No that was all real. I have literally had my mind snapped into several pieces which will take some time to recover from. So I think I might take sick leave now if nobody objects." She told the group.

"Take all the time you want kiddo I imagine SHIELD can hold the fort down for a while. Hey have you ever been to Malibu? I have an extra room if you and the reindeer wanted a holiday." Stark said crossing over and placing a metal arm around her shoulder. "That's if the God doesn't object?" He held his hand out for Loki who took it in his. Loki's body froze for a second that jittered rather frantically. He broke free from Stark's grasp and gave Ironman a death glare. "A little electric impulse consider us now even from the hair thing."

"Oh I do not think so man of Iron, you have just declared a trick war with the God of Mischief. A battle you will lose." Loki told him with a smirk etched on his lips. The room seemed to relax and tension drifted out. Barton and Natasha began to talk in hushed tones while Banner and Rogers talked between themselves. Thor made his way over to Loki, Samantha and Stark but Samantha had her eye on someone else.

She looked over to see Gareth stood watching Hill and Fury talk intently about something or other. Loki noticed her looking.

"Go talk to him." He whispered in her ear. "You have five minutes before I turn him into a frog though." She playfully hit Loki who smirked at her. She walked over to Gareth and left the two Gods and the billionaire to talk.

Hill's eyes immediately became hard as she walked over but Samantha did not look at her. Only at Gareth.

"Hey" She said.

"Hey" He said back.

A few awkward moments of silence past before Samantha broke the tension. "Can we talk?"

He nodded before walking outside and Samantha followed. She could feel Loki watching her but he gave her the privacy of the moment. That didn't stop him from listening through her head but at least he wasn't talking or standing right next to her.

The early morning English breeze caused Goosebumps to form on her sleeveless arms. Note to self armour needs arms or a button to release arms when cold she told herself. Samantha crossed her arms hugging herself. Both of them weren't looking at each other but the distant lights of the motor ways and the sound of cars rushing by for another tedious day at work. Most of the Quinjets had returned to the Hellicarrier but two remained.

"I used to walk all the way to the field boundary and sit on the fence watching the cars go by. My mum never noticed, she was always too busy writing another theory to get published. She used to say to me the world keeps changing therefore what we believe in changes as well." Her voice was quiet but he could hear her. "It's about a mile up the road to the left." Samantha turned her head looking that direction. "Where she died."

"What caused the accident?" Gareth asked.

"I did." She turned to look at him and he was looking at her. She couldn't hold his gaze though and returned to look out at the passing cars.

"Wait I thought it said—"

"On the record it said my mum was tired. The truth is a different matter." Samantha paused taking in a few breaths. She had never told this to anyone but she needed to tell him. She needed to prove how much she trusted him. Gareth didn't rush her only waiting patiently for her to continue. "We were returning from a seminar she had been speaking at. I completely disagreed with her theory that, well basically that we can time travel. We got into a massive argument which meant the car ride home was interesting."

Samantha felt the slight sting of tears on her eyes but refused to give in.

"I was too much like my mother in that respect that I am too stubborn for my own good." A small smile crept on her lips. "The shouting match went off on a tangent though saying how I was just a child and it led me to shout back on why Dad left her. I don't know to this day if what she said next was a lie or not. My mum was generally a good mum but in the heat of the moment we all say things we regret." Samantha was quite as she remembered what her mum has said. "She said the reason my dad didn't join us in England was because of me. He couldn't stand the thought of a child."

Samantha's gaze became hard and a lump formed in her throat as she remained looking forward.

"I screamed in frustration and hurt which startled her and caused her to swerve into the oncoming traffic." She gave out a pathetic laugh. "The last conversations I ever had with either parent were both arguments."

"Why are you telling me this?" Gareth asked after minutes of silence. Samantha turned to face him.

"To show you are not beneath me or anything I told you. I wasn't exactly in the right state of mind when I said it but at the time I meant it. Now I realise that I am no better than the next person. You were there for me when I needed you and I've taken that for granted." She paused for fully emphasis on what she was about to say. "I'm sorry."

Gareth remained quiet for a few moments pursing his lips.

"You know you're the only person I've ever told that to." She said.

"What even lover boy hasn't even heard?" Gareth asked sceptically inclining his head in the direction of the house behind them.

"No he hasn't." She replied. "Loki knows what's happened though. He'll deny it but I know he's read my mind." Samantha felt a small laugh coming from the back of her mind and had a good idea who that belonged to. "So if you forgive me am I invited to the wedding?"

"What wedding?" Gareth asked.

"Gareth you've had the engagement ring in your pocket since I arrived on the Hellicarrier. Not the best idea to bring it to battle in case you lost it but hey, you never know when the moment might strike am I right?" Gareth playfully hit her on the arm smirking. Samantha pulled him down into a hug and they stayed like that for several moments.

"I'm going to miss you Samantha." He whispered in her ear. He knew that Samantha would leave with Loki.

"We'll see each other again." She told him. A cough was heard behind them and they turned to see Loki stood leaning on the door frame.

"I believe 5 minutes was up a while ago." He told them. Samantha rolled her eyes as she turned back to Gareth.

"Go ask her now but please don't do it in front of Fury. I don't believe the man could take any more stress." Gareth smirked at her before walking past Loki and into the house.

Samantha turned to face the road again and felt Loki's arms wrap around her waist. His lips at her neck slowly kissing her.

"Green was very close to becoming a frog then." He told her in between kisses. Samantha didn't say anything instead she remained looking forward. "A pink frog might I add." Samantha felt herself smile but she was distracted. Loki felt it too and stopped kissing her. He rested his head on her shoulders. Despite Loki's cold skin temperature and the cool morning breeze, Samantha felt oddly warm wrapped in the arms of the Prince. "What distracts you so Samantha?"

"Yes." She said after a pause.

"Yes?" Loki asked. Samantha turned around to face him and looked him dead in the eyes. She took one hand of his and entwined it with her own. The other she reached up and placed on his cheek.

"Yes Loki Odinson, I will marry you." Loki's lips burst into a wide smile. One where the only emotion was pure happiness. It was a rare one of Loki's but always invoked a smile of her own. Loki reached up her left hand in his and kissed in gently. In front of her eyes Samantha watched as the ring he had presented her with on the Hellicarrier materialised on her finger. He pressed him lips to her but gently, savouring her in that moment.

"Urgh will someone tell the two lovebirds to get a room?" She heard Stark say behind them as the group began to leave the house. This only caused the two love birds to smile as they carried on kissing.

"I couldn't agree with you more Stark." Samantha snapped out of the kiss as she recognised the voice.

Hughes.

"How are you out of prison?" She asked the man stood several feet away leaning on a tree.

"I'm not. This is a video projection. I had a few investments in this crazy plan but I didn't expect them to succeed. No I wanted revenge and my man is stationed there ready." He turned to look at Gareth who was stood right beside her. The whole group did. Samantha connected the dots. He was still under Hughes control all this time. "You gave me a broken body so I'll return the favour with a broken life."

Before anyone could act a glaze covered Gareth's eyes as he took out his gun and aimed it straight at Samantha.

He fired before anyone could react and Samantha could do nothing as the bullet headed straight for her head.


	25. As one door closes

**This guys is the second to last chapter. : (**

**I will be uploading an epilogue later today and look out for the two one shots relating to this story over the next couple of days. One will be an alternative ending because this was how it was always going to end, but I feel like I should offer a different ending because well read it and you'll find out why. And the other one you'll need to read the epilogue to guess what that might be.**

**Just for you all to know, I always planned for it to go this way. I won't have an author's note on the last chapter so I just want to take the time and say thank you to all of you reading this and have supported me with reviews and story alerts and favourite stories. I am eternally grateful and look forward to writing more stories for you all in the future.**

**Vex **

Time seemed to slow down as she saw the bronze shell head straight towards her. Gareth had been stood too close for her to deflect it or react. Normally so could have directed the bullet away with her mind or rolled to the side, but in that moment her mind seemed to freeze. She registered something pushing her to the side and the next thing she knew she lay on the floor but there was no piercing sensation in her head. No blood ran down her cheek. Confused for a moment longer before time sped back up and sound reached her ears.

Rogers and Fury had wrestled Gareth to the ground while the image of Hughes flickered and disappeared. Samantha could see him laughing but she didn't know why. She was not hurt; the bullet had somehow missed her. How though was soon answered by Thor.

"Brother!" Samantha heard Thor cry. She spun back round not believing the sight that lay in front of her.

Loki lay where she had been standing moments before with a red circle enlarging every second over his chest. Samantha crawled towards him not accepting what her eyes were seeing.

Thor was knelt next to her placing a hand over where Loki's blood began to poor, trying to compress the wound. Chaos erupted around her as Fury called in medical teams and Rogers tried to calm Gareth down. Stark and the two assassin's looked taken a back while Banner knelt on the other side of Loki trying to give him medical attention. Loki's eyes did not see them though he only looked at Samantha. She had yet to say a word.

Banner started to shout instructions and the sound of Quinjets flying towards them could be heard but Samantha took none of that in. She grabbed Loki's hand and held it in her own.

"You can't leave me." She told him.

"You were going to leave me." He reminded her. His voice was losing the strength and confidence it usually possessed.

"Yes but that was me, I'm allowed to do that." She said. Loki gave out a small laugh. "It's just a flesh wound. You're a god, a little bullet shouldn't hurt you. What's the point in all that armour if it doesn't protect you?" Samantha tried to reassure him and herself but she already knew the truth, and so did Loki.

"Samantha a bullet that close and heading straight for the heart can kill even a God." She saw Banner press something and Loki grimaced in pain.

"Well use your magic then. Heal yourself. You are at full strength." Her words became frantic as her mind tried to grasp any possible solutions that could save his life.

"I am it's what keeping me alive now to talk to you." He reached up his hand and held it to her face. "I have seen worlds that no one could imagine but nothing more beautiful than you. I want your face to be the last thing I ever see."

Loki reached up and Samantha reached down kissing him one final time. Their kiss was strong and compassionate filled with all the goodbyes that could not be said with words. As he pulled back Samantha felt his hand go limp in hers and his eyes fluttered closed.

She kissed his forehead as tears began to fall but she restrained herself. She looked up to see Banner shake his head and Thor scream with rage. The mighty warrior let a single tear fall before he hurled his great hammer through an oak knocking it to the floor. As the tree fell though, it froze in mid air.

Samantha looked around surprised at what had just happened when she realised the rest of her companions were also frozen. Samantha looked at her watch as the seconds hand was stuck. This watch never ran out.

Someone had frozen time itself.

Samantha stood up but then lunged forward as some white mist literally came from her body. The mist formed a body of its own that took on a solid form. It was like Samantha was looking in a mirror but the features of this ghost thing were more defined and regal. The hair longer and the pony tail tighter and higher up the head. The armour it wore was similar to hers but with differences that she had got rid of.

Stood in front of her was Speki.

Samantha wiped the tears from her eyes and found herself standing a little taller trying to match the presence the goddess of wisdom and intelligence gave off. Samantha realised she also felt weird. A hole had developed in her chest the moment she had felt Loki's hands go limp. Now though the hole seemed small and minuscule, a massive change from the huge one that ripped her heart apart before.

It was as if before, when Speki was in her body, she could see no hope without Loki but now she felt she could carry on.

"Because you can." Speki told her. Samantha felt herself shiver as the voice entered her ears. It was almost identical to her own but always with that quality she could not place.

"What?"

"You can carry on now." Speki reassured her. "Yes you love Loki but that love was amplified by mine. Now that I have left you, you now have the opportunity to lead your own life. You can find your Loki, the one you were supposed to find if you never had me interfere."

"I don't understand."

"If I had remained joined with your soul, you would have loved Loki until the last star died. Part of you will always belong to him but now that I am not interfering with your future, you can find the person you were always meant to find. There is Loki out there for you. Just trust in fate for you to meet him." Speki had a small pleasant smile on her face.

"You can't suddenly appear just like that and then disappear dramatically again. You've changed my entire world and you think just popping in and out of my soul was okay?" Samantha raged at her.

"I did not pop in and out of your soul." Speki said. "I merely gave you and me another chance. I could see what Loki was becoming and I had to do something. I also saw a scared little girl dying in front of me. If you had the power to stop either of those things you would have chosen exactly the same path. Don't even dare deny it."

Samantha said not a word.

"Now Loki has passed on I can join him in Valhalla and live with him until the end of time. You can live your life the way it was meant to."

"Well if I had lived my life the way it was meant to I would be 6 feet underground right now wouldn't I?" Samantha asked. She could see though that Speki did not get her reference. "I would be dead!"

"But you are not." She reminded her. "Use this second chance at life wisely Samantha and you shall reap the rewards."

Both remained silent for a few moments.

"So what happens to me now? Do I turn back into the nerd who couldn't do gym?" She asked.

"You will lose the ability to control things with your mind and the advanced stamina, healing and strength. However you retain the intelligence you had before and being a reincarnated god still makes you immune to most diseases. Haven't you ever wondered why you've never suffered from a cold?" Speki asked but carried on before Samantha could answer. "You will keep the skills you have acquired through your fighting practice but you will not be as much a gymnast or as quick as you would like."

"So to sum it up, I'm basically a nerd you can defend herself if needed." Samantha said.

"Yes, to sum it up as you say." Speki said. "If ever in trouble though some part of me that is always with you will kick in but only in life and death situations." Samantha could see her form start to fade. "I must go."

"Look after him." Samantha whispered but Speki heard.

"I will." She said. "You look after yourself now. Thank you Samantha Jennings from leading him away from the darkness."

"Well it was technically both of us let's be honest."

"But mainly you." Speki said. Both of them looked straight at each other in the eye. "I'll always be there Samantha looking over you, guiding and protecting. I won't be the only one either. Remember let fate work her magic, that is all you need to know."

With those last words the mist faded and Samantha was brought back to reality with the large thud of the tree hitting the floor.

"Samantha?" The group looked up to see she had moved several feet away from where she was a second ago. Rogers continued. "How did you get over there so fast?

Samantha turned around to face and them and saw Loki's body had disappeared. A smile came to her face as she could picture his reunion with Speki. Thor's face showed concern though.

"Where's Loki's body?" Banner asked.

"In Valhalla." Thor said. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes full of grief. Thor turned to look at her and his eyes widened in shock. "Lady Samantha where has Fear gone? It has been stolen."

"No it's back where it belongs." She told the group while looking up. She had a feeling that it would have left her. The group not understanding her sudden change of moods, looked slightly worried.

"Kiddo are you okay?" Stark asked.

"I'm fine" She told the group but she knew her words were not believed. She turned towards Fury. "Consider this my resignation. From the Avengers, from the SHIELD, from everything."

"Jennings you can't just abandon the world because you lost your boyfriend." Fury warned her.

"That would be implying I have powers to save the world with." She said with a small smile. The group was silent as they took in what she had just said. Before any could ask though she explained. "Speki left with Loki. So it's just me in here, plain old Samantha Jennings."

"Lady Samantha-" Samantha caught Thor off by wrapping him in a hug.

"Thanks for everything big man but I have to move on now. Fate's telling me it's time to go and who am I to argue with fate?" She backed away from them all and began to walk towards the motorway. "Thanks for the offer of Malibu Stark but I don't think I should take you up on it. Banner remember you control the other guy not the other way around. Rogers try and move on from the past find yourself a new dame. And Fury please give Green and Hill and decent pay rise so they can at least afford a nice honeymoon."

The group became shocked as she walked away. Mouths hanging a gape for a few. They truly believed she had gone mad. She stopped talking and turned around to face them all.

"It has been an honour fighting alongside you all but please don't be offended when I say I hope I never see any of you again. I need to find out who I am and you lot know me as someone else. Thanks for everything but this is goodbye."

Before anyone could react and take the clearly insane Samantha back to the Hellicarrier so she could be treated and cared for, Samantha pressed her little watch and disappeared from view.

She was now starting a new story, her own story.


	26. Epilogue

Samantha walked out of her new flat to get the last box from her car. She was glad to be back in England and would be starting a University course on medical research in a couple of weeks. It isn't too late to find the cure to cancer she thought. She still had her intelligence and she planned to put it to good use.

Even though it had been year since she left SHIELD, she still saw the occasional agent checking in on her but she chose to ignore it, she had cut off all ties with them. To remember them would be to remember him. Even thought the departure of Speki meant that his loss wasn't world stopping for her, she had still loved him. She grieved for him for a long time but now it was a low throb that she could push to the side and carry on with her life but she couldn't cope with SHIELD. Until her dying day she would never be able face SHIELD again. That was the past now and she needed to begin the next chapter of her life.

The year she had taken was exactly what they had planned to do together. She got away and forgot about the rest of the universe. She still had nightmares and called out for him at night but it was happening less and less. She could now look in the mirror and see the scar that ran along her face and not be scared but reminded of the sacrifices both she and he had given. The year helped her piece her mind back together. It meant she could move on and start her life again.

She locked her car and walked back into the building with the last box glad that she had enough money from writing papers put aside to fund her through university. As she was walking though she didn't watch where she was going and walked straight into someone.

"Oh my fault, I should have been looking" She quickly knelt on her knees trying to pick up the contents of the box but it was only some clothes.

"It's okay I wasn't looking either." Samantha almost gasped out loud when she heard the voice. It couldn't be.

She looked up to see a young man helping her clean up the clothes with light browny blonde curly hair. She looked into his eyes which were a light green, not emeralds but still fascinating. There was no denying what she saw.

"Thank you." She quickly stood up and the man pasted her clothes he had managed to neatly fold. He gently gave them back to her looking Samantha in the eye for the first time. She saw confusion cross his face as he tried to place her. She noticed the door open behind him also with moving boxes littering the floor. "I see I'm not the only one moving in here." The man seemed distracted for a moment before turning around to see what she was pointing at.

"Oh yes I moved in yesterday." He nodded still trying to remember Samantha from somewhere.

"Well I guess I'm your new neighbour. I'm moving into this one." She pointed to the door behind her which happened to be opposite his. She had a feeling what was crossing his mind-no it couldn't be, don't get your hopes up Samantha she told herself. Though what were the chances she just happened to be moving in opposite him?

The stranger's gaze then wandered on the scar that ran along her face.

"Work." She stated not annoyed at his staring only slightly self-conscious.

"Excuse me?"

"It happened at work." Samantha said pointing at her scar. The man quickly adverted his gaze and Samantha could see the embarrassment in his eyes.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay, it's not exactly inconspicuous." She laughed slightly hoping to ease the tension that her injury had created.

"What work were you in? Wait that's nosy I'm—"

"If I told you I would have to kill you." She smirked at him and he laughed at her remark. "Something for a government but I served my purpose and left. Seriously it's fine, you actually have been one of the better reactions." Samantha's mind drifted back to when she had been to the shops to collect a few everyday items she needed. A child ran behind his mother and began to cry when he saw Samantha approaching. Another man she remembered seeing on the news, with a large silver moustache, didn't stop staring at it and even pointed it out to his mates.

Her new neighbour smiled lightly at her remark but she could tell he was already back to trying to remember her from somewhere.

"I'm Tom, Tom Hiddleston." Tom held his hand out and she shook it with hers. She immediately melted in them; she never thought she would feel that way again. His smile was gorgeous she thought, innocent and charming. She didn't know if she preferred this or a certain smirk she loved. Stop thinking like that she told herself however much she tried though, Coulson's and Speki's words kept coming to her mind.

She noticed Tom seemed to have a similar reaction and she could see blush hinting underneath his cheeks.

"Samantha Jennings." She returned his smile and noticed how long their hands had been entwined. They both seemed to notice at the same time and simultaneously let go of each other. There was a brief pause before each gave out a small laugh, Samantha could now feel the blush spread across her cheeks. She hadn't done that in a while she thought.

"Pleasure to meet you Samantha." His voice was rich and though it sounded almost identical, Tom's voice had a differently quality to Loki's that she rather liked.

"You too Tom." She turned around to her door but as she opened it Tom's voice caused her to turn around again.

"Samantha I was actually just about to go out. You see I have friends in this area that when I visited once they showed me this great coffee place...urm...I think I remember where it is and it should still be open I don't see why it wouldn't be...urm..." Samantha placed the box down in the flat then gave her full attention to Tom. He was stumbling over his words and the blush was prominent on his face. He took a deep breath before he continued. "What I planned to say before the rambling was, you would like to join me for coffee?"

"I would love to." She smiled at him and he smiled back. She grabbed her coat, keys and wallet then closed the door. They began to walk down the corridor and both had smiles plastered on their faces.

"You're not going to believe this and you'll probably think this is some sort of cheesy chat up line but I swear I know you from somewhere. I'm trying to remember you but it's like trying to remember a dream and is just out of reach." He looked embarrassed but she found it cute.

"You have no idea" She muttered to herself. "Don't worry Tom if we had met you would have remembered." She shot a smirk at him and he laughed at her statement. He held the door open for her and Samantha walked out the building with Tom by her side with a future that was now completely her own.

**The End**

**For Samantha Jennings but for every story to end there must be a beginning...**

**The 7****th**** Child**

**Coming Soon**


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